The Jaguar Versus the Wolf
by Just4fun37
Summary: A Jake-Ness-Nahuel love triangle. Nahuel's a non-veggie hybrid w/no moral issue re feeding on humans so how does he get Ness to date him & Jake not kill him for it? What does Nahuel do when Joham captures Ness & Jake? Who will Nessie choose in the end? Companion to my other story Orbiting Satellites Bk2 but works as stand alone. Nahuel's POV - He's not easy to like but fun to write
1. The Visitor

_The Jaguar Versus the Wolf_ is a companion story to_ Orbiting Satellites - Book Two. _It is all in Nahuel's Point of View. Read what was going on in Nahuels mind during the Jake-Nessie-Nahuel love triangle and what he was doing when Joham captured Nessie and Jake. I've tried to write it so that a reader will be able to read it as its own stand alone story, but I recommend reading _OS Books One and Two_ first.

The can be found here:

_Orbiting Satellites - Book One_

s/13204890/1/Orbiting-Satellites-Bk-1-Sunrise-revised

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_Orbiting Satellites - Book Two_

_ s/13292759/1/Orbiting-Satellites-Book-Two_

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**The Jaguar Versus the Wolf**

**Chapter 1 - ****The Visitor**

**Orbiting ****Satellites**** Book Two, Chapter 1 - New Hampshire ****companion **

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Nahuel's Point of View

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"Nahuel there you are," my Aunt Huilen greeted me, as I returned from a much needed hunting trip. "You had a visitor while you were gone." We didn't get many visitors here in the Brazilian Rainforest. Who could she be talking about?

Could it be Renesmee? When I saw her last September she looked like a ten to twelve year old girl. Given the quickness at which I had grown, if she followed the same pattern, she probably looked like a teenager by now. That idea got me excited.

It hadn't escaped my notice (or my Aunts for that matter) that Renesmee was the only female hybrid in existence, other than my sisters. Since I was the only male hybrid known to exist it seemed us becoming mates was predestined. She was too young to begin anything romantic the last time I saw her, but given her rapid growth I didn't think it would be long until we could begin something. When we'd returned to the Rainforest, after first meeting Renesmee during the Volturi misunderstanding, my Aunt talked to me about a possible future with the child. She mentioned that it wouldn't be appropriate to completely disappear out of Renesmee's life for a few years then return, springing myself on her once she was old enough to mate and expecting an instant connection. So I'd been going to visit her each year for her birthday as a way to stay in her life. The first two years my Aunt had accompanied me, but not since she found her mate, Roberto. He refused to restrict his diet around the Cullens, so they elected to stay in South America last year and I went alone.

Perhaps I'd made a better impression on Renesmee than I thought during my visit last year. Had she decided to come visit me this time? I couldn't see her family being okay with that, not without the rest of them coming too, or at least her parents, Bella and Edward, traveling with her. No. My Aunt only mentioned one visitor so it couldn't be her. Her family was overly protective of her. In their minds I bet they thought of her in her actual years. To them she was only turning three years old, too young to travel on her own.

"She said she will return after she's fed." My aunt stopped and tilted her head. She was thinking about something, asking herself if she should bother with whatever she was about to say. And yes, I knew her well enough, after one hundred and fifty-something years, to know that she wouldn't say whatever it was. "Did you see her?" she asked instead.

"You haven't told me who it was." Why was she being so mysterious?

"Jennifer, of course. Who else ever comes here asking for you?" She had a point; I should have known it was her. I wondered how much my facial expressions gave away my disappointment? But it would be nice to see my sister again. "Perhaps you already ran into her? She was headed to the nearby village to the South. That was where you went as well, wasn't it?" She knew full well that that was where I was. "Are you sure you didn't run into her?"

"No." Curious. I hadn't smelt her either. "We must have just missed each other. Where's Roberto?" Once he and Huilen solidified their relationship, and became mates, he'd become a permanent fixture here. It was strange that they were apart now.

"He didn't exactly say, but tomorrow is our eighteen month anniversary. I suppose that might have something to do with his mysterious absence." Yikes, that was a big smile for her.

"It's been a year and a half already? I hadn't realized," you'd celebrate such a stupid anniversary. While I didn't say that last part out loud, I think my eye roll gave my opinion away.

This line of questioning had been a mistake. While I found Roberto tolerable enough, my Aunts incessant ramblings of him was more than I could take. And she seemed to enjoy torturing me with it. That or she was trying, and failing, to change my opinion of him. Not that I didn't like him. I didn't know him well enough not to like him. What I didn't like, or understand, was how much his presence seemed to change my Aunt. For my entire life she had been my (almost) sole companion. I hadn't realized until she met him that she had been lonely. That she had been missing something from her life. That finding her mate would change her so completely. I wanted her to be happy though, and was glad she found him, even if it meant our relationship changed.

Thankfully Jennifer returned three hours later, rescuing me from my Aunt. She was my favorite sister, for the simple reason that she had been the least corrupted by our father, Joham. For how long it would remain that way was uncertain. She was the youngest, he'd had the least amount of time to influence her, but also she had me. I liked to think that I balanced out his negative views, at least a little. but she lived with him, I only saw her once or twice a year. I wished it could be more. Whenever I asked her to come live with me and my Aunt, that we could be her family just as much as him, she declined. I wasn't sure if it was totally his grip on her or that our sisters, Maysun and Serena, lived with him two. They were almost as bad as him. I didn't want her turning up like them… like him.

I'd have to try again this visit.

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**A.N.** -

1\. I'm not S.M.

2\. If you've read _Orbiting Satellites - Book Two_ you know that Nahuel doesn't return to the Cullens until Chapter 4. While these first few chapters are somewhat fillers they do contain some background info to explain why Nahuel is the way he is and I believe the key to understanding why he behaved the way he did with Nessie and Jake.

3\. As soon as I have finished publishing this story I am planning to begin posting _Orbiting Satellites - Book Three_

4\. Thanks for reading. Did you like it? Please review.


	2. New and Old

**The Jaguar Versus the Wolf**

**Chapter 2 - ****New and Old**

**Orbiting Satellites Book Two, Chapter 2 - New Hampshire - Part Two companion**

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"Jennifer, my baby sister, there you are," I said, wrapping her in a hug. I hadn't seen her since before I alerted the Volturi to her, and my other sisters, existence and they then decided to _visit_ them (and our father). Aro, Marcus, and Caius had thankfully elected to spare them, ruling that since there was no law specifically against making hybrids, if only because none of them knew it was possible, Joham hadn't broken any laws and all had been allowed to live.

Once they'd left he came looking for me, wanted to know why I'd betrayed him like that. He was beyond angry, and refused to let any of my sisters visit.

He was right. It was my fault, and I regretted it, but nothing could be done. An innocent hybrid child's life hung in the balance. After learning of Renesmee, Joham calmed down considerably. Before that I had actually been worried that my life might have been in jeopardy. To say that relations between us had been tense would be an understatement. But since Jennifer was here it looked like the last of his anger had finally faded.

Jennifer didn't look the same as she had last time. Of course she hadn't gotten older, she stopped aging almost a decade ago, but there was something about her that looked different.

"Do you like it?" she asked twirling around, "it's called a wrap dress. Father bought it for me. Isn't it lovely?" she beamed.

My Aunt and I wore the traditional clothing of our people, but my father was never one to continue on with traditional ways, always looking to the future. My older sisters, Serena and Maysun, were completely devoted to him, and followed his lead in everything he did, but Jennifer was younger, not so brainwashed. At least she hadn't been.

As a present for her seventh birthday, when she was officially grown, with my Aunt 's guidance, I'd made her a beautiful animal hide dress, trimmed in fur and beads cut from local stones. Huilen told me it was fit for a princess in our tribe. Jennifer immediately fell in love with it like I knew she would. I hadn't seen her wear anything else when she came to visit until now.

It seems Joham's influence over Jennifer was growing stronger. "You're not mad are you?" she asked me when she saw the scowl on my face.

"What happened to the one I made you?"

"I still have it, but I just felt like something different for a change. You know humans change their clothes every day."

"Humans sweat, and bleed, and defecate, they're disgusting. Changing clothing daily has equally as much to do with fashion as necessity."

"I'm not changing my clothing daily. I've had this on for two months now. It was a birthday present. Not that you'd remember."

Now I felt awful I hadn't even realized... What was the date?

"And I've seen you wearing modern clothes before," she challenged.

"That is only when I visit the Cullens. They have one among then who is obsessed with clothing for some reason." Alice insists I wear them. She'd show up to my room every morning I stayed with them, laying out a new outfit as soon as I'd wake up. After the first year I gave up trying to argue with her. It was just easier. "They try not to draw attention to themselves, as they attempt to live among the humans. I only do it when I am with them," I explained.

"Oh, right. The Cullens," she smirked. Your Aunt mentioned that you've been spending a lot of time with them. What's going on with that? They almost got all of us killed. Now you're hanging out with them, and their humans. I know you enjoy playing with your food, but have you decided that our way of life isn't good enough for you? You want to try to act more human? That's what Huilen says, but that can't be right can it? You just said you find them disgusting, so what's up big brother?"

"I think I'm in love," I admitted. "Or at least I potentially could be."

"You fell in love with a human?" Jennifer gasped in shock. "Father's not going to like this. Oh, are you planning on changing her? Then that would be fine."

"Don't be ridiculous. It's Renesmee, the other hybrid I told you about." Her eyes grew wide but soon a smile appeared on her face. Thank goodness. I needed an ally.

I thought my Aunt would have been more on my side, but she didn't approve of Renesmee. I think it was because I was humoring the Cullens, drinking animal blood, when I was with them, more than anything else that upset her. But compromises needed to be made, didn't they? And I didn't think temporarily altering my diet was too much for them to ask. My Aunt said that I shouldn't have to change myself for someone else. That if they didn't like me for who I was then they weren't worth it. In her mind the Cullens were just as bad as Joham, opposite, yet the same in their extreme way of thinking. One too greedy for power and control, the other too submissive, denying their true selves to bend to the practicalities of others. That's what she thought I was doing too. Submitting myself to the Cullens _vegetarian diet_, wearing modern clothing, living in their human house when I visited… everything about them seemed to repulse her.

I didn't think it was that bad. And it was only temporary. When Renesmee became my mate, we would return to the jungle. Once she was away from her family's influence she would adopt to our way of life. I was sure of it. Renesmee was young. It would be easy for her to adapt to our traditional diet. And she would look so beautiful in the traditional skins and furs of my people.


	3. Revelations

**The Jaguar Versus the Wolf**

**Chapter 3 - ****Revelations**

**Orbiting Satellites Book Two, Chapter 3 - ****Embry's Court Date**** companion**

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"Hey, baby brother," Maysun? What was she doing here? "A little bird told us you found a girlfriend," my sister said as she dropped out of a tree, landing quieter than a whisper, eighteen meters in front of me. I hated when she would do that. While most Vampires could move, barely making a sound, I never, in my one hundred and fifty years, ever heard my sister, when she didn't want to be. "Human or Vampire?"

"Oh, please," my other sister Serena chuckled. Her, I had heard crashing through the forest from three kilometers away. I didn't 100% know it was her, but knew there was someone out there making a racket. And who else could it really have been? Stealth was never Serena's strong suit. "It has to be a Vamp, he'd never be able to keep a human alive. You know he has no self control," she laughed.

Apparently my track record was hilarious. But like she said, they were human. I didn't care. I liked to play with my food, so what?

"Renesmee is one of us," I explained, "a hybrid." They looked shocked. "Didn't Jennifer tell you? Isn't that why you showed up here, now. I haven't seen either of you in more than a decade, and now here you are, not three weeks after I told Jennifer about her."

"Yeah, well, it seems that there were a few things she left out when she told us the exciting news. But now that we're here why don't you fill us in on all the juicy details." Could Serena actually be interested in something about me? She normally had some ulterior motive. Not always, but when I had met Rosalie Cullen she immediately reminded me of Serena.

"Do you remember when the Volturi came to _talk_ to father three years ago?" Of course they did and even started growling at the mention of the Volturi. They'd threatened not only Joham, but my sisters as well. "She was the reason."

"Your mate is the reason father can't make any more new little brothers and sisters for us?" Serena seemed pissed.

"Where is she anyway?" Maysun asked, looking around.

"Renesmee lives in North America."

"But if she's your mate, why isn't she here with you?"

"We are not mates… yet. She's not even three years old. That's too young. She is still with her family."

"You mean her father."

"No. She lives with an entire coven that think of themselves as family, one of whom is her father, but another is her mother."

"That's not possible." The idea seemed to make Serena angry. She really needed to take a breath and calm down.

"Her father preformed a cesarean instead of risking a regular delivery; it gave him enough time to change her mother before she died."

"Why?"

"They're mates." Wasn't it obvious? Bella and Edward loved one another. Why else would Edward have done what he did?

"But that's not possible. Father said-"

"Joham lied." I know he had the two of them practically brainwashed into thinking he could do no wrong, and had all the answers, practically since birth, but after the first couple of centuries couldn't they start to question something? Anything? "He never even tried to save our mothers."

"They were weak humans. If they were stronger, like us, he would have. Like he did with me," Serena spat. I had no idea what she was talking about and it must have shown on my face, since she soon began to explain. "Back when I was six father introduced me to his friend Anton. Of course he was a Vampire. There was an instant connection and we soon became mates. Soon after I had a child. Father had seen what happened to my mother and tried to cut the child out to save my life. He shouldn't have. I'm a hybrid, I would have survived the delivery, but instead the baby was removed too soon and didn't survive. My mate, Anton, was heartbroken. We tried again, over and over, for the next few decades. I was never able to get pregnant again, though. I had never seen Anton so… after awhile he could no longer function; he wanted a child so badly. He tried to go on but after a decade he couldn't take it anymore and father told me he went to the Volturi and asked them to end his life."

So that's what happened? I'd never heard the story before, but when I was younger Maysun had told me that Serena used to be happy, cheerful even. But if she had lost her mate, and child, I suppose it would explain the change. She was one of the most miserable people I'd ever met.

"But father became obsessed," Maysun explained. "To the point where he thought it might have been something wrong with Anton, and after he was gone father brought in another Vampire for her to try with."

"I couldn't do that. Be with someone other than my mate, it wasn't even a possibility. He knew Vampires find one mate, and only one mate, but I don't think he realized it would be the same with hybrids."

"But he soon did, when he suggested…" Maysun tried to finish explaining for her, but stopped mid-sentence, breaking down and shaking her head. "So father readjusted his plans and I got to… well you know. But I couldn't conceive either."

"Eventually father ran some tests and determined that it was no longer possible for us," Serena eventually continued. "Not since we stopped aging."

Wait! That means I have three years left (to be on the safe side) to have a family of my own before Renesmee turns seven. That should be enough time, if I started the process right away. Three children would be nice; as much as I loved my Aunt , I always wished to have others my own age to grow up with.

"What's today's date?" Renesmee's third birthday would be soon. If I was going to be there again for her party, and now it seemed I needed to be there this year, more than ever, then I needed to get a move on.

"Nahuel," Maysun rolled her eyes, "sometimes I wonder how we can be related. You're part Vampire, how do you manage to lose track of time?"

It's not that I lose track of time, or any other thing, I just never pay attention to such things in the first place.

"September 8th," Serena told me, when Maysun was too caught up in a fit of laughter to. "Why?"

"I have to go," was all I bothered giving as a response as I began running north. Oh, I should probably tell my Aunt I was leaving too. "Tell Huilen where I've gone," I yelled back.

"It looks like we'll at least get a niece or nephew if we can't have anymore brothers and sisters," I heard Maysun tell Serena.

"Perhaps." Why didn't I like the sound of Serena's voice just then?


	4. Almost a Party

**The Jaguar Versus the Wolf**

**Chapter 4 - ****Almost a Party**

**Orbiting Satellites Book Two, Chapter 4 - ****The Missed Birthday ****companion**

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I went to the wrong address. I knew Edward had mentioned they were moving but I could have sworn he said it was going to be after Renesmee's birthday, not before. Clearly I was wrong; their house in Hoodsport was empty of them.

Judging by the Cullens lingering scent they hadn't left too long ago. A charming middle-aged couple was currently moving in. They were carrying boxes into the house, while their teenage daughter complained about everything, and their five or six year old son ran around, getting in everyone's way.

I was thinking of grabbing a snack before I ran across the country, trying to decide between the mother and daughter, when the family's dog appeared, and I was reminded that those mangy werewolves lived nearby. It wasn't like I would be in any danger, but there were a lot of them, and I didn't need any survivors tattling to the Cullens.

I'll have to grab someone out of state. Once I got to New Hampshire I knew I'd be stuck eating human food or drinking animals as to not upset the vegetarians. Yuck!

Pushed myself - forgoing sleep and only stopping once to feed on a couple lovely young ladies, I managed to arrive in New Hampshire the morning of Renesmee's birthday but she wasn't even there. Her protector, afraid to let her out of his sight even for a second, had taken her with him on some errand, or something, and she wouldn't be back for a few days.

Now what was I supposed to do?

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Renesmee's scent hit my nose before she even walked through the door. It was late at night and I could tell she was tired. But that wonderful aroma of lilacs and sunshine... intoxicating! And there was something else. Something different.

What was it?

Oh! Taking a deep breath it dawned on me. I'd noticed a similar change in Jennifer. Renesmee's scent was now that of a woman's. She'd become fertile.

As soon as she walked into the room I saw my suspicions were right. She definitely looked older. Much older. I hadn't remembered aging so quickly. But then again, as I looked closer, part of the rapid growth that I first thought occurred was just due to her clothing and maybe how she was wearing her hair. Her face was still youthful. It would still be a few more months before...

"Are we going to have to have another conversation?"

Huh? Looking to my left I saw that the rude comment came from the dog. Her pet/protector was back, attempting to intimidate me again. Argh, did he have to stand so close? "What would you like to talk about this time? You can't possibly think I hurt her in some way from over here." What was his problem?

"I know you won't hurt her because you're never going to be a close enough to touch her," he growled at me.

"We'll see about that."

"Nahuel, it is good to see you again," Renesmee said as she skipped over to me. She had to push her bodyguard out of the way to do so, but I didn't care. Maybe he would finally learn who was really important to her.

"Renesmee I would never miss your birthday, if I could help it. And may I add what a lovely young lady you have grown to be. Happy Third Birthday," I told her, before wrapping her up in a hug.

The feeling of holding her in my arms was satiating, so much so that I didn't want to let her go. I hadn't seen her in a year, but after only a few seconds that dumb dog pulled her away from me. He was really starting to get on my nerves. I knew he didn't like me but he didn't need to.

"Thank you. I would love to talk to you some more, later. But I'm afraid I need to excuse myself for now," Renesmee told me, apparently not noticing how rude her pet was acting.

Why did she need to leave so soon? I got my answer a second later as she called to her dog, "Jacob, I'm going to take a nap. Are you coming?" It seemed odd that he would need to guard her while she slept, but then again, he was ridiculously over protective. While he nodded to her, I glared at him. I wanted him to know that the game was on. Try all he wanted, when she's old enough she will be mine! And once she was, he would no longer be needed, and sent packing.

"I'll see everyone later. Thank you for the party." Renesmee called as she went to her room, the dog nipping at her heels.

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**A.N. ** I realize this chapter was short (and so were the last three, but like I said at the end of Chapter 1, these first ones are merely fillers to line up with the Chapters in OS -Book 2


	5. Disapproval

**The Jaguar Versus the Wolf**

**Chapter 5 - ****Disapproval**

**Orbiting Satellites Book Two, Chapter 5 - ****Rude Awakenings**** companion**

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Esme assured me that Renesmee should be waking up soon, so with her husband, the three of us headed back over to hers and her parents house. I couldn't wait to see her. Since she was too tired from her trip last night we would be celebrating her birthday today.

When we arrived almost everyone, save the guest of honor, was already in their living room. The room had been decorated with dozens of fresh flowers, not only arranged in vases around the room, but petals were scattered throughout the tabletops, streamers hung from the ceiling, and a giant cake sat on a table in the center of the room next to a handful of presents.

In my rush to get here, I forgot the jewelry that my Aunt and I had made for Renesmee, but in an act of inspiration (not desperation) I'd grabbed a few of the nicer pieces that I took off of my last meal. It's not like she would need them anymore and the items were lovely. They would look even better on Renesmee.

"You fed around here?" Edward suddenly was in front of me snarling.

"I was barely inside the county limits; far enough away that's no one will tie her back to you. Don't worry you're safe." Sheesh he was overreacting.

"And what happens when the Renesmee is seen wearing the necklace you took off the girl?"

"Her parents are going to report her missing to the police, and give them a description of it. It was a family heirloom," Alice chimed in, visibly looking like she was coming out of one of her visions. "They'll find out."

"Fine. I'll chuck it, if you're that scared," I teased. "But you should've seen her; the girl had curly brown hair, similar to your daughters. The necklace would have looked lovely around her slender alabaster neck."

Why was Edward growling now? I just said I wouldn't give it to her.

"What's going on?" the dog interrupted as he came into the room.

"Nahuel killed a Nessie clone nearby and now wants her to wear his trophy," Rosalie snarled.

"What!?" he yelled.

"Don't be so dramatic darling," Emmett said rolling his eyes at his mate.

"You fed from someone that looked like Nessie?" the dog growled at me. "What else did you do?"

"What do you think? I did what I always do with young ladies." I smirked back. He was well aware of my feeding pattern. I'd entertained the family one night last year, after Renesmee had fallen asleep, with stories of my feeding and screwing preferences. Or was it the year before? No matter. This latest girl and I spent a lovely night together… well I did. She expired sometime between thrust eight-eighty-two and nine-forty-seven. I hadn't really been paying too much attention, only noticing when I was done and started drinking. I knew I heard a couple crunches, which was either some of her bones breaking, or the bed cracking (or both). It was hard to tell over all of her screaming; it wasn't my fault humans were so weak and flimsy. And then I was stuck feeding on lukewarm food. At least it hadn't gone completely cold, I hated eating cold! It never tasted as good.

The dogs eyes grew wide and I thought he was about to pounce. That would have been funny to see, but before he even got the chance Jasper and Alice dragged him out of the house, into the back woods.

That's too bad; I was really looking forward to pounding him into the carpet.

"I think I could use some air myself," I said as I left out the front door. I thought I was going to be getting into another argument with Edward, when he and Bella followed me out.

"Relax, while I don't approve of your feeding habits I'm not going to attack you. What you do is your own business, as long as it is outside of our territory," he stressed. "I just need the jewelry to find some place to dispose of it where it won't be traced back here." Once I handed it over they headed in the opposite direction as me.

This was not good. I needed to make Renesmee my mate soon, but showing up for her birthday party minus a gift was not going to tip any scales in my favor.

What to do? What to do? I started wandering aimlessly around the forest, trying to come up with an idea. And then I happened upon a Cardinal's nest. It took over an hour of waiting but I used the time to work on making a cord out of some sinew I already carried, until the little thing eventually came home. Just as I suspected its red feathers not only made a beautiful addition to the necklace but would bring out the amber highlights in Renesmee's hair.

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A.N. Is anyone reading this? Please review and let me know what you think.

I know the first few chapters were boring, but this is where it starts to get interesting. I know Nahuel is horrible and impossible to like, but i just love how he makes Jake squirm and enjoy hating him. It's actually really fun to write.

Please, please, please review.

Thanks!


	6. Murphy's Law

**The Jaguar Versus the Wolf**

**Chapter 6 - ****Murphy's Law **

**Orbiting Satellites Book Two, Chapter 6 - ****Unexpected Announcements**** companion**

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_Argh_! Edwards playing was... fine. I mean there was nothing exactly wrong with it; _technically_ it was perfect. I just didn't care for it. It had no life, no rhythm. _Boring_ would be a good word to describe it.

"I'm surprised not to see your wolf joined at your hip, Renesmee. I didn't think he was allowed to leave your side," I said to her once Edward had finally finished. Now was my chance to talk to Renesmee about our deadline.

After she explained where the dog had gone, which I didn't really pay attention to, (he was not here and that was all I cared about) I asked to speak with her, the rest of the Cullens would most likely find out eventually, but I didn't want them butting in when I told her. "And with you as well," I added to Edward and Bella. They would probably need to know also. "In private, please. I have some important matters to discuss with you."

Forgetting to include her parents in this discussion would not have been good. I was already on shaky ground with them after I killed that girl. I paused in the doorway of Edward and Bella's bedroom, remembering how delicious she was. And the way she felt under me when I…

Edward's growl snapped me back to the present.

What I was about to say was mainly for Renesmee so I began by looking directly at her. "I realize you're not fully grown yet but I'm afraid what I'm about to tell you cannot wait." Due to his gift Edward must have already known everything I was about to say. Since he hadn't stopped me I assumed he approved and I continued to tell her everything I'd learned from my sisters about a hybrid females reproductive deadline.

When I finished I mentioned the idea of our marriage. I didn't see the point, but if she was so brainwashed into the human façade, I figured it couldn't hurt.

"Do I have to get married?" she asked.

Wonderful, she had a mind of her own. Perhaps that meant that it would be easier than I thought to convince her to drop her family's ridiculous vegetarian diet. I had no desire to drink rabbits for the rest of existence.

"Of course not Renesmee," I happily told her, "we can live like other Vampires, as mates. We would not have to go through the pretence of a human wedding if you don't want to."

"Emmett, Jasper!" Edward then yelled as he dragged me from the room.

What had I done?

"You had to call these two? Why?" Emmett was huge, raw power, and Jasper… all those scars! He must have fought, and won, more fights than any living Vampire.

Edward ignored my questions, instead telling Emmett and Jasper everything that just occurred as they dragged me to the backyard. While everyone would have heard, Rosalie was the only one, not _invited_ who followed. Great, I knew she wasn't one of my biggest fans. And the other two, who weren't too rough before, now that they knew what I offered became much less temperate, their grip tighter, their shoves harder.

"Do you mind if I take over here," Rosalie asked, once they had dragged me far away from the house, five or six miles at least. Enough that Renesmee wouldn't be able to hear my screams. "You can get back to Nessie and Bella. Don't worry, leave everything to me," she smirked to him.

"You're going to have to go slow," Edward said right to my face. He was so close I could feel spittles of Venom sting me as he spat each word. "Nahuel doesn't seem to understand the complete inappropriateness of what he said back there."

"That might be true but it's also true that I now understand you to be a condescending prick." Yeah, I was baiting him. The coward was going to leave me out here while a girl did his dirty work for him. Loser!

"This is going to be fun," Rosalie chuckled, as Edward walked off without another word to me, only whispering the word "one piece" to her, leaving the four of us behind. Emmett and Jasper were continuing to hold me in place. _Merda__!_ How was I going to get out of this? "I'm going to make this simple for you, Nahuel. Renesmee is like a daughter to me, a LITTLE daughter. You touch her and I'm going to break your arm."

"I didn't…" I started to protest, but she didn't listen, too enamored with the sound of her own voice.

"And if that doesn't stop you, the next time I'll break your other arm, and then your leg. And don't for a second think that I just mean I'm going to break bones that'll heal in a few hours. I mean I'm going to break them off and throw 'em in a fire." Was that what Edward meant… ONE piece was all she was allowed to rip off of me this time? "So unless you want to spend the rest of your existence known as _stumpy_ I suggest you keep your hands off of that little girl," she yelled into my face.

This was it! I started struggling, but as hard as I tried I couldn't break free from Emmett and Jasper's grasp.

But instead of grabbing a part of me to dismember she backed away. What? What was going on?

Could Edward have meant to _leave me_ in one piece?

Then was that it? Just threats? Not even a few punches? If talk was all they were going to do to me, which I now realized was more the passive vegetarian Cullens style, then this would be easier than I thought.

But now I had two guard dogs to get past. They couldn't be around Renesmee all the time though. And despite what Rosalie might say, I had a feeling that if she loved Renesmee, like she said she did, that if I could get the girl to fall in love with me, her goons would back off, not wanting to risk making her unhappy. At least that was what I hoped. For now though I would just have to play along.

Rosalie went on and on for a while, as I nodded and agreed to whatever nonsense she was spouting. Eventually the three of them ended up leaving me in the woods, Emmett almost looking sorry. I chose to believe that he was sad about the part he played, not that he was upset he didn't get to hit me.

Ten minutes later I followed, and of all the dumb luck, ran into Edward just before I made it back into Carlisle's house.

"Nahuel, I see that Rose left you on one piece."

"You upset she listened?," I sneered back. I know he was Renesmee's father but I was pissed. She should be able choose a mate for herself, not him. And he was not even giving me the opportunity to see if we could be a possibility. How miserable did he want me to be – alone and without a mate for all eternity? I probably wouldn't be as bad as Serena, after she lost Anton but still, I at least wanted the chance to be happy.

"I'm sorry about how I reacted, but your news was quite a shock," he sighed.

Really?

"While my daughter is still too young to date, I will not stop you from spending time with her. Platonic time," he stressed. "And don't worry about Rose, I'll tell her to back down."

"What about the dog?"

"There's no controlling Jacob, when it comes to Nessie's safety, I'm afraid. You're all alone on that one," he told me. "Oh one other thing. I try not to intrude in others private affairs," I shot him a look of disbelief, which he ignored, "but I thought I should tell you that there is a flaw in Joham's recounting of events." Could Edward see the past, as well as the future with his gift? He scrunched his eyebrows and shook his head but didn't elaborate as he continued. "In no way do I know what really happening to Anton, but if he went to the Volturi to end his life, then Aro would have read his mind a century ago and the Volturi would have already learned of the existence of Half-Vampires before Renesmee. He never would have gone to Forks, to destroy my family, at least not on that pretext."

That meant Joham probably killed him. I wouldn't put it past him.

Merda! Now I would just need to decide whether or not to tell Serena. And how.

* * *

**A. N.** Six chapters and no reviews? Not even negative ones? Come on guys... let me know what you think.


	7. Alone Time

**The Jaguar Versus the Wolf**

**Chapter 7 - ****Alone Time**

**Orbiting Satellites Book Two, Chapter 7 - ****Mating Questions**** companion**

* * *

It was just my luck. The Cullens had moved to the other side of the country to attend a particular college, Darmutt, or something. I didn't see the point. Vampires had exceptional minds and had no need for institutional learning. Boxes like these were set up to have humans regurgitate information en masse. Surely the Cullens could come up with better ways to entertain themselves.

Last year it left Renesmee unattended by her bodyguard. Rarely had I seen them apart, but Esme was kind enough to inform me that his schooling was a requirement insisted on by Edward and Bella.

Unfortunately this year it seemed that the dog made arrangements for her to be guarded by members of her family at any point he was not glued to her hip.

The first time I attempted to talk to her I found Renesmee and Rosalie doing each other's hair. I didn't think much of it at the time, but the next day she spent playing the piano with Edward. Then she and Carlisle were engaged in a discussion on some new microbes she had read about online that had just been discovered. The day after she and Bella spent cooking the dog a four course dinner. Then there was shopping with Alice and recovering chairs with Esme. I thought it was a string of bad luck that I was always trying to get a chance to talk to her while she was already engaged, but when I saw her being followed by Emmett while she picked flowers I realized that it was the dogs doing.

Two could play this game. If he wasn't going to let her be alone with me then I would just have to insert myself into her day. I didn't care if three's a crowd, from now on it was going to have to be three's company. Her, me and whoever her assigned protector was.

The next day I found her playing chess with Jasper.

"Check," there was doubt in her voice, but she took her finger off the piece anyway.

Jasper smirked and quickly moved is knight.

"That's an interesting set," I said as I picked up one of Jaspers captured bishops. The pieces looked like they were the Cullens instead of traditional Chess pieces. Edward and Bella seemed to be replacing the king and queen pieces so I assumed one of them made it. Edward, probably, his ego seemed large enough to do something so narcissistic.

"Nahuel, hello!" Renesmee exclaimed. I guess she hadn't noticed me until now. That was disappointing. At least there was a smile on her face. "Jacob made it for me, carved it himself. Isn't it amazing."

"Yeah." The piece dropped from my fingers as my heart sank.

"Do you play," Jasper asked.

"I've played before, but would not consider myself an expert by any means." Chess never interested me before, too much sitting and staring.

"Would you like to join us? I've been teaching Nessie the finer points of the game, she's getting quite good. I would be happy to give you a few pointers as well."

While the idea of being around Jasper was less than appealing. Just looking at him, I knew he could take me in an instant, but it would mean I would be able to be around Renesmee more. "That would be wonderful," I said as I sat down next to Renesmee.

For the next week, anytime Renesmee was not with her dog she could be found with me (and whichever member of her family the absentee guard dog had assigned to look after her). But it seemed (with the exception of Rosalie) they were not as vigilant as him, and while Jasper kept up with our lessons the others merely maintained their presence in the room, hovering over us, more or less. And eventually one day, instead of her weekly piano duet with her father, Renesmee asked me to go on a walk with her. It was surprising and joyful that Edward didn't make a move to follow us.

She said that she had the perfect spot, and wanted to run there, but a sudden thought occurred to me and I needed a little time. "Do you mind if we walk? It's a beautiful day."

She agreed and we mostly walked in silence as Renesmee led the way while I got lost in my thoughts.

I was trying to figure out the gifts each of the Cullens had. I know that not all of them were gifted, but they were an unusual coven. Not only did they consider themselves a family, instead of a coven, but they were larger than any coven I had ever heard of, other than the Volturi.

The Volturi's size was due to two main factors. One was the prestige that came along with being a member and the other was a forced comradery resulting from one in their ranks having powerful gift.

I didn't think anyone in the Cullen _family_ had a similar power. But then again I wasn't sure what all their powers were. I hadn't wanted to be rude and ask, but if I was going to make Renesmee my mate it seemed like it was something I should know, if only to avoid any complications in the future.

Perhaps Carlisle had something similar. He was the one that brought everyone together originally. But it did seem contrary to his personality to force others to live a life that he chose. Maybe they were all drawn to him for some other reason. I'm sure I would find out the reason eventually. I only had to wait long enough. There were a few gifts I had figured out, at least a little. I knew Renesmee's gift. To put her thoughts and emotions into others minds. She had shown it to me herself. And her mother, Bella, she had some sort of shield that she had used against the Volturi. The others I was a little more shaky on.

I knew that Edward and Alice were some sort of psychics. She being able to see and he could hear the future, or something like that. Alice's mate, Jasper I think was affected by others emotions. It seemed horrible, and could not really be called a gift, more a punishment, if you ask me. I didn't think Esme had any sort of gift. Nor did Emmett, other than his imposing size, but his mate must have had one. How else could Rosalie have turned that wolf into Renesmee's guard dog? I wanted to, but couldn't blame her for her misguided attempt to protect Renesmee. Rosalie loved her niece almost as much as I hoped to someday.

Before I knew it the sun began to set. "Is it much further, this place you had in mind?" I asked. We must have walked five or six miles.

"There is a clearing up ahead, just through there," she pointed past some thickly settled brush. "It's out of range of my father's hearing."

"He has a range? You mean he can't hear everything that's going to happen?"

"No," she looked at me weirdly. "He can only read minds up to five miles out, less if he doesn't know the person."

So that's the extent of his gift. He wasn't psychic. In some ways that was better. At least I saw what caused my confusion. He must have been able to hear into Alice's head while she would have a vision of the future, and being the egotistical being that he was, was the one to relay the information to his family.

More importantly Renesmee wanted to come all the way out here so her father wouldn't hear her… us. This was good.

"Renesmee, have you asked me out here because you have come to a decision about us?"

"Actually I had some questions regarding how Half-Vampire mate."

I didn't mean to hurt her feelings but couldn't help but laugh. "You're not that sheltered are you? Surely you know how sex works?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'm aware of how it works. That wasn't what I was referring to. I was wondering if you knew if we were more or less similar to humans or Full-Vampires?" Huh? "Are we capable of choosing one mate for life, forever, like my family? I know some of our cousins in Denali, Tanya and Kate, use to have many... um, partners over the centuries but never found a permanent mate, until Kate met Garrett, that is. Now the two of them are mated together forever. Is it the same with us?"

If we were to become mates, my past would come up eventually; I may as well tell her now. "I too, have had many temporary _companions_ over the years, none of whom resulted in becoming my mate, but from what I have heard from my sisters, once we find our mate, it is permanent."

That seemed to make her happy. "Thank you, you don't know how good that is to hear."

"Did you have any more questions for me?" Or can we get on with this?

"Not at this time, but it's nice to know I have someone to go to if I do."

"You can always come to me, Renesmee. Just let me know if you need anything."

"Thank you, Nahuel," she smiled again.

"Well then, now that that's settled, shall we begin?" I grabbed her hand and stepped forward to close the gap between us. She was young… inexperienced. I knew I needed to go slow. Just a simple kiss to start.

After I closed my eyes, the next thing I knew she pulling away and her hand came up to block my kiss. Did she want to start this some other way? A hug? Cuddling? My arms wrapped around her and I went to try again.

"Nahuel, I think I gave you the wrong idea. I realize I'm the only other Half-Vampire that's known to exist, but I can't do this. I'm not ready for this yet, with you or anyone else," she said as she wiggled out of my arms.

Then right on cue her dog appeared, growling at me as usual.

"Jacob, calm down. I'm fine," she said to him.

I forgot how large he was in his hairier form and took a step back. I knew I could take him, but I didn't want Renesmee to get hurt in the crossfire.

"I'm sorry, Renesmee, when you asked me about us mating I assumed you meant -" I tried to apologize if I acted too fast, but the dog started advancing, growling louder and louder with every word he spoke.

"JACOB! Stop that, and phase back now. You're not helping. Nahuel is not a threat," Renesmee yelled at him.

Despite her earlier hesitation it seemed she did want to be with me. Now her dog just needed to back down. He was back to his human form which was good, and it meant he could talk. Not that I cared what he said.

"What _EXACTLY_ do you think you're doing?" he screamed at me. I should have been paying more attention but I assumed Renesmee would have yelled at him again, so I wasn't prepared when he got in a cheap shot and knocked me over. He was bigger but I had a hundred and fifty years of knowledge and fighting experience on him. He wouldn't be doing that again.

Getting up, and moving right into his face I yelled back at him, "This does not concern _YOU_. This is between Renesmee and me."

"EVERYTHING regarding Renesmee _concerns_ me! And I heard your little _chat_ with her. I don't remember her EVER saying she was interested in doing _anything_ with you."

Renesmee stepped in between us, and told her dog that she wanted to talk to me. Ha!

It took some convincing, but he finally caved.

"Alright, if you're sure, but I'll be right over there," he said, pointing to a nearby tree. "But if you even try to lay one hand on her," he pathetically attempted to threaten me, "remember that I'll be back in an instant and bite it off."

Yeah right!

"Nahuel, I'm sorry if I gave you with the wrong impression," she said to me once he was gone. Wrong idea? "I only meant to speak with you in order to see if you had any answers to my questions. I needed to know what to expect regarding my choices for the future. But as has been pointed out to me, repeatedly, by my family and Jacob, I'm only three, or fifteen years old, depending on how you look at it, after all. Both are too young to choose to mate and begin _that_ part of my life."

"I do not think you're too young. I do remember being your age, you know. And I have noticed the change in your aroma. You smell even lovelier than you did before." The change meant she had started menstruating, which meant she could bear children. With the speed at which our kind aged it told me that she was more than ready, at least physically.

The face she made next was a dead giveaway that she hadn't realized I knew. How could I not? Her new scent was so strong, it overpowered me. It was all I could do to keep my hands off of her.

"Yes well... also," she took her eyes off of me and hid them behind her hair, "as Jacob pointed out, I didn't exactly say I wanted to start anything with you right now. We don't actually know each other very well after all."

"Renesmee, we have forever to get to know each other, but the time before you stop aging is dwindling quickly."

"Not that quickly. I still have four years. Is that the only reason you're interested in me?"

"No, I genuinely like you, and believe we can grow to love each other someday. You're a fascinating young woman, Renesmee."

"How can you say that? You barely know me."

Was she serious? "I think I know you pretty well. What did you think I was doing coming all the way here, and to Washington before this, for your birthday every year. I wanted to spend time with you, to get to know you, so I could become your mate as soon as possible."

Her dog started growling; I guess he didn't like what I had to say, not that I cared. And Renesmee glared at him to shut him up. Good. He needed to start learning his place.

"I'm sorry to disappoint... your visit."

My visit?

"If you do not believe you're currently old enough then I must respect your wishes, for now." I was starting to think the same thing myself. Renesmee was as sheltered as I originally feared. While she was physically capable, emotionally she needed to grow up some more. But at the rate she learned, and grew, she might only need another few weeks, possibly as much as a month or two. That was easy enough. Any longer and it might be a problem. "But please keep the time constraint in mind. I know we would be good together. I think, right now it would be best if I gave you some space." Fighting her dog, just to get closer to her would not make things easy. "I shall be in Carlisle and Esme's guest room. Please come find me if you change your mind. I do not believe I'll be too welcome closer to you, presently," I said eyeing her guard dog. It would create unneeded tension between us, slowing our progress. Her dog hadn't taken his eyes off me since Renesmee sent him away. "Not until your… _protector_ has had a chance to cool down. But Renesmee, as the deadline approaches I will be more persistent. Please think about what I have said."

I hope that wasn't too forward. But I couldn't let her deadline slip by. This was too important.

I jogged back to the house, ready to begin making plans for our future but was stopped by Edward. He didn't look happy.

Argh, I forgot that I should have begun guarding my thoughts at the five mile mark.

"Edward, I want you to know-" I tried to explain my intentions as soon as I saw him. I was still a mile away, but knew he could hear my voice, not just my thoughts, but as I got closer I saw that he had my bag at his feet.

"Your Aunt must surely miss you, Nahuel. Don't you think you should go home to her?"

_You want me to leave? _

He smirked when I only asked my question in my head, not out loud, letting him know I had learned the exactitude of his gift. It quickly dissipated.

"My daughter might be more amiable to continue your discussion next year, when she's older. I also suggest you think about what it will mean to becoming a part of this family and our way of life. It's a serious commitment that includes not only dietary restrictions but also… more importantly the necessity for you to respect my daughter."

Commitment and respect? Apparently it wasn't only Rosalie's dog I needed to maneuver past.

Speak of the Devil. She and her husband were already waiting in their car to take me to the airport. Edward said that he had already booked my flight. I would be back in the Amazon in less than twelve hours.

* * *

**A. N.** Well Nahuel got the boot... for now. Find out what he does in the Jungle until he can return to Nessie, Jake, and the Cullens. Does he listen to Edward? How is he going to handle needing to commit to the Cullen way of life? Can he give up Human blood and other women? All for Renesmee? And when he comes back what will Jacob do?

Please review


	8. Water Features

**The Jaguar Versus the Wolf**

**Chapter 8 - ****Water Features**

**Orbiting Satellites Book Two, Chapter 8 - ****Lots to Learn ****companion**

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It took me longer than expected to find my Aunt Huilen, and her mate Roberto, when I returned home this time. My Aunt normally preferred to live somewhere close to the north-west border of the Amazon Rainforest. That's where I looked first, but after searching for three days, couldn't find a trace of her. Expanding my search I finally picked up her scent. It was faint, old, but I followed it and two days later eventually I located them.

"There you two are I thought I'd never find you."

"Roberto enjoys living further down the river than we had in the past," my Aunt explained.

"Isn't it lovely here," he added, pointing to some water features - a bubbling brook and tiny waterfall. I didn't find them particularly interesting but my Aunt seemed to like it, so I guess that was all that was important. One part of the forest was really not that much different than another to me. And after nearly two centuries I'd seen every part of these lands at least a dozen times each. In fact we'd lived nearby here for a short while, shortly after I had finished aging, but had to leave when I fed from one too many young ladies on a particularly amorous month.

Hmmm… I wonder if they are still as tempting?

"So, are you going to tell us what you doing back? Alone?" Roberto asked me. "I thought you would have stayed with your little mate?"

"Renesmee is not my mate. At least not yet. She's too…" Protected? Sheltered? "Young," I settled on. No need to tell him the truth. He already had a problem with me being a hybrid. I was inferior in his eyes. Sometimes I couldn't figure out what my Aunt saw in him. When Renesmee and I did become mates we would return to the jungle but live on our own. I'd miss Huilen but there was no way I was bringing her here, to him, beyond the occasional visit.

"But she's a hybrid," my Aunt exclaimed. "How could she be too young? She's three, isn't she?" I nodded. "I remember you at that age. I could barely keep you in check. I thought you were going to expose us both, with your carnivorous, carnal activities."

Of course my Aunt was right. Her memory was perfect.

"Well she's different," I lied back to her. "It must be a female hybrid thing." Roberto started not so quietly laughing to himself, which I tried to ignore. "She's not ready, but should only be another year. I can wait that long."

"Are you sure that's it?" Roberto asked in a mocking tone. "She didn't reject you did she?"

I couldn't tell if the idea amused or angered him.

"No! Of course not. She's just too young."

"Fine, fine," he said, waving his arm. He definitely didn't believe me, but at least my Aunt was kind enough to go along with it.

"And what do you plan to do in the meantime?" she wondered.

"The same thing I've always done. Nothing's changed. I'm still the same person I was."

"So you're staying around here?"

I wish I didn't have to, if Roberto was going to be here, which he was. Still I loved my Aunt and wanted to spend as much time with her before I restarted my life with Renesmee as I could. I would just have to put up with him.

"Yes, I -"

"Good," she cut me off. "In that case you can help me gather reeds for a new series of baskets I'm working on."

* * *

**A.N. ** Okay, do clearly this was a short chapter - another filler just to bridge the gap until Nahuel returns to the Cullens, and Renesmee, but gives important background info showing partially why Nahuel is the way he is and does the things he does. (at least i hope it does),

Since it is so short i'm going to post Chap 9 today as well, and hopefully at least one per day to get back to Orbiting Satellites - Book 3 as fast as possible. I know i left off on a very intense cliff hanger and don't want to keep people waiting longer than necessary.


	9. No, Not Again!

**The Jaguar Versus the Wolf**

**Chapter 9 - ****No, Not Again! **

**Orbiting Satellites Book Two, Chapter 9 - ****The Volturi Return ****companion**

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Delicious!

The young woman, whom I was currently devouring, body and blood, was beyond my expectations. I'd once again gotten carried away in the heat of the moment and she'd expired some time ago. I was still drinking from her corpse, all the same, when a stray ray of sunshine hit her hair. When I first saw her she hadn't reminded me of young Renesmee, but now the way the light hit her curls it was all I could think about and I suddenly lost my appetite. No matter; there were plenty of others in the area to choose from. The blood was beginning to cool anyway, and I disliked a cold meal.

A week later I was scouring a new city looking for my next meal. While it had not concerned me, at first, the more I thought of it the more worried I became.

Eventually I would become Renesmee's mate. But for how long? What if I lost control while we were making love and bit her? Her family had faith in me and I had not been worried in the least before. Rosalie and the dog were the only ones who'd seemed concerned about this possibility last year. But now, if only just to prove it to myself I wanted to make sure.

So here I was, traveling nearly a hundred kilometers out of my way, looking for a young maiden who resembled my future mate. It wasn't easy, Renesmee was a hybrid like myself, naturally beyond just merely good-looking. Trying to find someone to even come close to a tenth of her beauty was a challenge. Finally in my fourteenth village I found someone who would suffice.

Herding her back to the motel room, I had procured earlier, I doused the girl in some fruity smelling perfume I had found that made her scent a little more aromatic than the current sweat and dirt stink she was currently giving off. My plan was to screw her, but I would not feed, not until after I was done. I needed to prove to myself I was capable of the same with Renesmee – minus the inevitable feeding.

This was a good test, I was sure of it. The girl had the same long dark curly hair, never ending thick bold eyelashes, rosy cheeks, full pink lips, (though I'm sure on her it was due to makeup and not natural beauty like Renesmee's) and big brown eyes.

Renesmee… her porcelain skin, so soft, so delicate, so kissable.

"Ahhhh!"

Hmmm? Looking down I noticed the girl thrashing around underneath me. Or more now, I guess, than she had been. Then she grew still. It's only then that I saw the wound on her neck and realized what I'd done. It wasn't that I was too rough, this time, and had broken her, like I'd done with so many of my meals I'd had in the past. Without even realizing it I'd bit and drained her.

Bosta!

Renesmee wasn't even here and I'd lost control just thinking about the two of us being together.

As much as I hated to admit it, it seemed that the dog was right.

I was a danger to her. I'd only left the Cullens less than a month ago. When I returned for Renesmee's fourth birthday in September she would be around twenty years old in appearance. That gave me four months to gain control.

She was my only chance to procreate. The fact that she was beautiful (a given being who she was) and cleaver was an added bonus. I had waited multiple lifetimes for her to come along and I was not going to mess this up. Not again. I was really going to have to lay on the charm this time with her family, after the disaster of last year.

* * *

I know, i know, Nahuel is disgusting. But he's decided to try to be better... if only temporarily. That counts ... right?

What do you think? Do you love to hate Nahuel as much as me?

Please review.


	10. Namesake

**The Jaguar Versus the Wolf**

**Chapter 10 - ****Namesake **

**Orbiting Satellites Book Two, Chapter 10 - ****Fight Training ****companion**

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Three weeks! It's been three weeks since I last fed, or enjoyed the company of a woman. I should have gone last week, but my pride had gotten the better of me.

"Why don't you hunt Nahuel?" The concern grew more apparent on my Aunt's face each day that had passed. She'd never seen me like this before, and didn't understand why I was choosing to give up blood. "You need to feed. Just go, we're not that far from a village. You could be there and back in half a day. I know it would make you happy," she said hinting at the pleasure I normally took while feeding.

"No I can't. My thirst... it's too great. I would not be able to control myself. I..."

"Then just wait at the border. A straggler is sure to come along."

What? No! While I was thinking of going for human food, she was picturing me feeding _from_ a human.

I shook my head, not even bothering to try to explain my decision again to her.

This was my only solution. I had to give up blood. Which meant I also had to give up women. It was a sacrifice; two sacrifices, but I was willing to make it… them. Probably not permanently. But temporarily. I could handle it. After all Vampires drink blood. I just needed to get through the next year or two. Then once I was use to Renesmee and being with her physically the need to deprive myself would no longer be necessary. Well… at least the blood part. Once we were mates I would need to stay faithful to Renesmee. And eventually I think she would learn to love drinking human blood as much as a normal Vampire. Perhaps even convince her family to do the same. Human blood was so delicious. I couldn't understand how they could stomach animal blood. This stupid experiment that Carlisle and his coven had going surely wouldn't last forever. Hmmm, better not think about that around Edward.

"Fine, if it's that bad than let me get something for you. What are you in the mood for? A feisty young thing? Or a more mature woman who will know what to do? I know... a plump-"

"NO!" I screamed to silence her. Even the mere mention was too much of a temptation.

"You have to eat," she yelled back. "If you want to get the Cullen girl then do as they do and go suckle a bunny." I don't think I've ever seen her so upset. Not angry, concerned. It didn't really matter; she was right, sort of.

If I wanted to do this, drinking a tiny rabbit wouldn't work. But it did give me an idea. I took off in search of my namesake and before long found a jaguar, but instead of drinking the beast I quickly snapped its neck, built a fire and filled my belly with its seared flesh. The thirst was still there but was much more manageable now. Tomorrow I would go into the village as my Aunt suggested, but I would obtain some human food.

There were a few dishes I'd grown to like over the years. None of them were as good as blood, but the occasional Feijoada or Moqueca stew was tolerable.

* * *

**A.N. ** Hi all. Yesterday I posted Chapters 8 + 9. Here's Chapter 10 and i'm going to post 11 right after this. Once Nahuel is back with the Cullens the Chapters will get longer again and go back to once a day.

Enjoy and please review


	11. Money

**The Jaguar Versus the Wolf**

**Chapter 11 - Money**

**Orbiting Satellites Book Two, Chapter 11 - ****Decisions, Decisions**** companion**

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I needed money for the first time in my one hundred and fifty plus years of existence.

Sure I had used currency in the past. The women I devoured always had some on them, usually enough to rent a motel room for the next girl, sometimes even enough for a meal or two, when the desire struck.

Trying to only eat human food, while at the same time giving up my carnal activities, presented a problem. The only way I could think to obtain money was to steal it. I didn't trust myself to snatch someone's purse without wanting more.

"Why don't you just sell some of these baskets you helped Huilen make," Roberto gasped after watching me struggle with my thirst for the too many-th day on a row.

"Sell them?" People would give us money for them? Was he sure? Huilen never tried that before. She'd only ever trade them with the local villages, over the decades, for things we couldn't easily produce ourselves – needles, string, sandals, buckles and the like.

Could I sell them? I didn't think Huilen would mind. Of course I'd ask her before I did it, but that would mean being around humans. Maybe… if I fed first, I would have enough control to do it. One more girl wouldn't make much of a difference.

A plan was forming in my head. I would go to a city, one of the larger ones, and find a young lady with money. Instead of screwing her I would just quench my thirst and then be in control enough to sell the baskets to buy human food. That combined with the money I relieved from the dead woman would mean I'd be able to buy even more food.

Yes, this is what I would do. Tonight!

* * *

No, I couldn't do this anymore. I barely started feeding but her blood tasted foul. My venom was in her system, though. I needed to keep drinking. If I didn't finish she would become Immortal and that wasn't part of my plan. Choking down as much as I could until I couldn't take it anymore, hoping it would be enough, and she wouldn't change, I snapped her neck just in case. After she fell to the ground and didn't start thrashing around in pain I knew it worked and she was really dead.

Going through the women's purse I found R$240, better than I thought.

"Hey, what's going on down there?" a voice called out from the end of the alley. I'd been louder than I thought and attracted attention. Bosta! Now I'll have two bodies to dispose of.

I let her walk toward me, pretending not to notice her as I re-searched the dead women's pockets. When she got close enough I spring up and slammed her against the wall. Judging by the woman's clothing, or lack of such, I knew she was a prostitute. A break for me. The authorities would be looking for my first victim but most likely no one would care about this one. I could just leave her crumpled up back here and it would be fine.

"Hey, hey, hey, no need to get feisty." Her attitude did a 180 seeing that her life was in danger. She'd probably been in similar situations before and thought she could talk, or do, her way out of it. Her hands started exploring my skin. It felt so good to be touched I let her continue for longer than I should have.

Trying to live up to Edward's expectations of me was not easy and I missed the company of a woman… even if it's only been for a short while since my last sexual experience.

Instead of my normal animal hide clothing I'd changed into some of the Cullen approved modern clothing to fit in better. She'd already undone all of the buttons on my shirt but it wasn't until she'd unzipped my fly without me noticing and her hands had slipped under my waistband that I snapped out of it. I needed to be stronger than this. I needed to become committed to Renesmee. She needed to be my one and only mate.

Her neck snapped with a flick of my fingers, just as easily as I'd done with the other one. I didn't even want to drink, not being able to stomach the thought of the taste of her blood. She smelled foul, which was strange. I'd had many prostitutes before and their stink never bothered me before.

I was about to hide her body, when I remembered that I had yet to search her for whatever money she had on her. But I'd have to work fast. I didn't need any more disruptions. I was only in a small back alley; anyone could come down here at any time. R$17… disappointing, but would be enough for a sandwich.

Done with her, I left the prostitute where she fell, covering her with some crumpled newspaper. But what to do with the other one?

My original plan was to leave the well dressed body here in this rough neighborhood. When the body was inevitably discovered it would be assumed that she must have gotten lost, and wondered where she didn't belong, stumbled onto something she shouldn't have seen and was killed because of it. Happened all the time. Having her be found next to a prostitute wouldn't work. It would raise more questions and there would be a bigger investigation.

It was after midnight so the night's darkness offered some concealment as I carried the body a few blocks over. Not really knowing where I was going, I wandered around for awhile, trying not to be seen.

Not finding a suitable disposal location I kept going. At one point I thought someone was following me, but it turned out to be a stray dog. Eventually I ran out of places, and town, to look. Then I spotted it. The perfect place. An old abandoned well. Judging by its dilapidated appearance it looked like it hadn't been used in decades. I couldn't even hear any water flowing beneath the ground here.

I threw the body down and didn't look back.

I'd fed, got some cash, and wasn't caught with the bodies. Tonight was looking much better. Happily I even started whistling to myself as I dashed through the forest to find Huilen and Roberto.

"You look happy," my aunt said when she saw me come into view.

Roberto smirked. "Looks like someone's back to his old hunting ways," he said while trying to be funny and attempting to punch me in the ribs over and over.

"No!" I yelled louder than I meant to.

"Calm down kid, I wasn't really gonna hurt you." Kid? Who was he calling a kid? I had a century on him. He'd been changed later in his life than I stopped growing. That didn't mean he was older than me, he just looked like he was. The fact that he was with my Aunt didn't make him my Uncle. And his _Might makes Right_ philosophy was getting annoying.

"That's not what I meant," I growled as I tried to push him off of me. He was a Full-Vampire and appropriately stronger than me, but backed off anyway.

"You didn't do either of them?" he chuckled after hearing my recap of the evening.

"Roberto, he wants Renesmee as his mate. I think it's sweet." While my Aunt was defending me she still looked judgmental. "I don't see the harm in satiating your thirst though. Killing the second one without feeding was wasteful, Nahuel," she chided me. There was the Aunt I knew and loved.

But why did I find their blood so unappealing?

I tried again the next week. More out of curiosity than anything else. But just like before she smelt unappealing and I couldn't drink. I snapped her neck, took her money, then after hiding the body went and sat at a local restaurant and had a nice meal.

The same thing happened the following week. And the one after that. Eventually I gave up trying to feed from humans. My thirst wasn't a problem after awhile; I was amply filled up on human food. Since I knew I'd eventually be living with the Cullens for a short while, once I returned to Renesmee and she became my mate, I even tried my hand hunting some of the local wildlife. I got the same results with every type of animal I tried to drink. I didn't know what was going on, but for some reason the only thing that tasted even halfway edible to me was human food.

No. That's not true. I did know what was happening to me. Even if I hadn't consciously decided to make the decision, some part of me realized that I couldn't become Renesmee's mate if I continued as I had. She wouldn't survive if I did.

* * *

A.N. Okay i just posted chapters 10 + 11 so make sure you don't miss either. This is the last of the super short chapters for awhile. Nahuel returns to the Cullens in chapter 12 so it'll be longer.

Please review and let me know what you think of Nahuel Love to hate him? or Hate to love him?


	12. Back Where I Belong

**The Jaguar Versus the Wolf**

**Chapter 12 - ****Back Where I Belong**

**Orbiting Satellites Book Two, Chapter 12 - ****Nahuel's Return**** companion**

* * *

I wasn't sure I was going to be welcome back at the Cullens, after being sent away for my behavior last year, so when I approached their house and saw Edward running out to _greet_ me I was more than a little nervous.

Normally I would have taken a cab, after either running or taking a plane most of the way here. The Cullens were funny about scents leading up to their dwellings. But this time it couldn't be helped. I had used all my available cash to buy food on my journey. It was annoying always needing to acquire more of the stuff, I didn't know how humans did it.

"Edward… hello. I was wondering if…"

"Have a seat," he cut me off, pointing to some rocks. "Let's talk, so we don't have a repeat of last year."

He hadn't immediately ordered me away. That was as good a sign as I could hope for.

Edward immediately started in on the rules I was expected to follow if I were to live with the Cullens. It didn't go unnoticed that he stressed the word IF. Some of it was going to be a challenge. I'd specifically returned for one reason, to make Renesmee my mate.

"It is her choice who my daughter wants for a mate, Nahuel. She may choose you… or not. But do not push her. Wait for her to set the pace. If you touch her against her will, or even make a move on her before she has told you it was allowable there will be consequences." Rosalie's warning to me last year jumped into my mind and it was hard to hold back a cringe. I did NOT want any body parts ripped off. "And I do not care about her reproductive deadline. Personally I think she's too young to have children but again it's her decision. But that will not justify rushing into things with her. In fact don't even bring it up. Do you understand?" I nodded. Following his rules was going to slow things down, if not make them outright impossible but it seemed I had no choice but to agree. "Good. Also your diet…" he started to go on, and on, and on, but a minute or two in I stopped listening. The diet part I had no problem with. Not anymore. I no longer desired blood. There would be no danger of repeating my slips of the past.

"Congratulations Nahuel," he exclaimed, he'd been somewhere in the middle of his many rules on feeding when he heard my thoughts and finally stopped being enamored with the sound of his own voice to listen to me. "Not a single drop of blood… not even animal?" He seemed impressed and clearly surprised.

Just then I picked up the dogs scent. He was nearby. I thought he was going to barge in on our conversation, possibly even try to attack me, but instead he stayed back by a tree and eavesdropped.

"That's truly amazing," Edward said, ignoring the dog, seemingly shocked by my change, but at least not so angry that I'd returned. Possibly even happy.

"Yes well, after last year I realized that I had a lot of work to do. But I wanted to be worthy." Renesmee was worth it.

"I can see that. How did you do it, cutting yourself off of blood cold turkey?"

"It wasn't easy, but I knew it had to be done. I couldn't risk myself around her otherwise." Knowing he could read my mind, I flashed through some of what I went through to get to this point.

"Well you're to be commended. After feeding from that young girl last year, so close to us, I was beginning to have my doubts about you, but I'm glad to see how seriously you're taking this. It is my daughter's life after all."

"Yes I'm well aware, but there is still one more obstacle, her... wolf." I'd once called him a dog in Renesmee's presence. It hadn't gone over well. I wasn't prepared for how angry and upset Renesmee would get hearing me call him what he really was. The look she gave me almost scared me. Mentally I made a note to not make that mistake again, and refer to him as something less offensive out loud, but would never be able to think of him as anything other than a damn dirty dog in my own head. That's what he was after all. Yet I doubted it would go over any better around any of the canine loving Cullens either.

"Jacob only wants what is best for her, but you should know that he will protect her at all costs. Even disregarding his own life and safety, if necessary. If you hope to have any chance with Renesmee you will need to prove to him that you're not a threat, first." That's what I was afraid of. Edward then went on to repeat his warning from our earlier conversation, before calling to the dog to join us.

He sulked out of the tree he'd pathetically tried hiding behind. "I heard but you don't think that I would believe, for one second, anything this monster had to say?" he questioned Edward.

Bosta! It looked like I was going to have to start sucking up to him if I was going to have a chance with Renesmee. Here goes… "I don't expect you to believe me Jacob. My behavior in the past had been despicable. Especially my behavior towards you. I would ask for your forgiveness but I don't think I deserve it."

"Sorry, still don't believe you," he sneered. He shouldn't. Not the part I said about him, but I would say anything, do anything, to get Renesmee. Oh, maybe I shouldn't have thought that in front of Edward. But did it matter? Really? As long as I was nice to his daughter, did he really care what I thought about her dog?

"Jacob, I have seen inside his mind, as you're well aware. You may not trust him, but believe me, he really has changed." It seemed I would be fine. "After the unfortunate incident with the girl last year, together with your and my reaction to it, along with Nessie's rejection of him, and your protectiveness over her, Nahuel reexamined his life and made a change; a permanent one apparently. His diet is completely void of blood, human or animal. It's similar to the change in thinking Rosalie made regarding you."

The dog didn't look like he believed Edward, but what he said was true and I needed to make him believe it, if only to clear the way to Renesmee.

I was going to say something, try to convince him myself, but Edward knew the contempt I still held for the mutt and must have known my words would come out less than sincere and continued on for me.

"It's true, he doesn't even seem to crave blood anymore. It might have to do with him being only Half-Vampire and is able to exist on human food in its place," Edward said, seemingly answering some unspoken question by the dog. "Renesmee is still growing, Jacob. Perhaps she can make a similar change when she stops growing so rapidly and her body ceases to change." "Jacob, I have not had any blood, or female _companionship,_ for that matter, for…" how long had it been? Forty-two days. That counted as more than a month. We were in multiples territory. "Months," I replied, honestly (enough).

Instead of talking to me the dog addressed Edward. "You're sure?"

I held my breath waiting for his reply. "Completely." Thank goodness! "He could be," Edward continued after a few seconds. The dog's silent questions were beyond annoying. "But I don't think he is. I believe he is telling the truth."

"That does not mean he won't change back though, does it?" the dog asked.

"It would be highly unlikely. It is hard enough for a Vampire to change once, to do it twice is practically unheard of."

"But there is a chance; he's not a Full-Vampire. Things are different with him. The fact that he was even able to make this change proves it."

"Jacob, please believe me," I finally jumped in. "I would never want to hurt Renesmee. That's why I tried so hard to do this. So that I might get the opportunity to be worthy of her.

"We'll see. I'll be keeping an eye on you while you're here. And just how long do you plan on staying this time?"

** "**Actually, I was hoping to stay with you, permanently. I wish to make this my home." At least until my goal was accomplished. If my plan was to work, and in time to have a child, I needed to start immediately to _woo_ her and to that end I needed to be as close to Renesmee as possible. "One of the comments she made to me, the last time I was here, was that she didn't know me very well. I was hoping to remedy that. I had thought the time we'd spent together during my past visits for her birthdays would be enough, but it seems I was wrong."

"You want to move in with us?" Clearly, by the disgusted look on his face, the idea appalled the dog.

"Nahuel, while I applaud your... _perceptiveness_ that you need to get to know my daughter better, and are willing to spend the time to do so, your desire to live under the same roof as her would be highly inappropriate at this time. Also I'm afraid that we simply do not have the room, as you're well aware. I'm more than happy to see if we can arrange for you to stay in the guest room at Carlisle and Esme's house again. I'm sure they would be more than willing to accommodate you."

"That's," not exactly disappointing, he wasn't saying I couldn't say, just not as close as I would hope, "wonderful to hear. I believe I have a lot of work to do to before we begin mat-"

"Don't get ahead of yourself," the dog snapped. "Just because you will be getting to know Nessie better doesn't mean she will develop feelings for you. And besides she is not old enough. She won't even be four years old for another week."

"Yes, she made that clear, on my last visit as well. You do not believe her thinking has changed on that matter?"

What was wrong now? The dog looked like he wanted to rip my head off.

"You can get to know her, possibly even become friends, but that's all for now," Edward spoke up, cutting him off from whatever he was about to say. "Jacob is right. She is not even four. She's still a child."

"Really, because she probably looks like an adult by now. What does she appear now... twenty? That seems plenty old enough."

"IT IS NOT!" They both shouted in unison.

"And she looks seventeen, maybe eighteen, at the most," Edward added. That also seemed old enough but I had a feeling she could be over a hundred and she'd still be seen as a child in her father's eyes. "Nahuel, for now I would suggest you just let her get to know you better. She has _time_ still for the other part. I do not want her rushing into anything," he said, repeating his warning from before.

"Alright Edward, I'll not attempt anything with her... yet." But as her deadline drew nearer I might have to change tactics, no matter what he thought. "However, I do believe you're incorrect. She is more mature than you give her credit for. But I'll back off, for now." That seemed to satisfy him. Now for the dog, I didn't want him ripping my arm off the next time I went to kiss her. "Jacob, I do not want to do anything that would cause you, as her protector, to take action against me. Do I have your word that you will not interfere with my desire to begin a... deeper friendship with her?"

It didn't look like he was going to agree, but then Edward unexpectedly stepped in, and spoke up on my behalf, "Jacob, you know she deserves to be able to choose who she wants to be with."

"Fine," he eventually gave in, the growl heavy in his words, "I won't try and stop you. But just know I'll be watching".

"Thank you, now can we go, I would like to -"

"I think it's a little late in the night for any of that," Edward cut me off. "If you would like, I'll permit you to say hello to her, provided she is even still awake at this hour, but anything beyond that will have to wait until tomorrow," Edward told me.

The run to the house was quick, and didn't leave me a lot of time to think about what I was going to say to Renesmee when I saw her, but it didn't matter. Apparently Edward hadn't told her it was me that had come, and what I first thought was happiness at my return turned out to just be relief that he and the dog hadn't rushed out to some unknown danger. I didn't get to say much to her, beyond _hello,_ before she went to bed for the night. At least she did promise to speak with me the next day. I would have been offended but could tell by the multiple yawns that escaped her lips (those sweet, plump, delicious lips) that her excuse was genuine.

Carlisle was not at home, but Esme already had the guest room ready for me when I made my way over to their house next door.

"Nahuel, so good to see you again. Alice just left. She restocked your closet, and tomorrow we can talk about decorating the room if you are planning on staying."

That was easy. I didn't even need to ask. Must make things like this easier having a psychic in the group. "Thank you," was all I managed to say before she ushered me into the room, mentioning how tired I looked. I was just going to rest for a few minutes before unpacking my bag, but fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

The next morning I awoke to an empty stomach. Running really works up an appetite, but my raid on Carlisle and Esme's fridge came up empty.

Sometime while I slept Carlisle had returned. He was surprised at my change in diet, not that I had gone into it, but he must have guessed some part of it, just by my actions, and informed me that I would need to go to Edward and Bella's house if I was looking for something to eat.

"I didn't think you liked human food," Nessie said as I took a seat next to her in her kitchen. I thought the same of her, but she just popped a piece of fruit in her mouth, herself.

"I've always been able to eat this… stuff, but just preferred my meals a little higher on the food chain," I admitted.

"You're staying at the Doc and Esme's place," the dog scowled. "Too good to eat over there?" He was devouring a plate of some sort of geometric cake that was covered in a liquidy sugar substance and fruit. It smelled delicious.

"They don't have any food over there," I replied, careful to keep my tone even. "And no offence to Esme, but I prefer the view over here," I said, eyeing Renesmee. Never too early to begin making my intentions known.

"Would you like some waffles, Nahuel?" Bella asked, holding a plate that mirrored the one she made for the dog.

"Thank you," I said as I grabbed it.

"Nahuel, I'm going shopping with my Aunt Alice after breakfast for some new school clothes," she said, "but I would love to catch up later."

Oh, I had hoped to talk to her sooner. "I would like to speak to you as well. Could we talk now… over breakfast?"

"I guess that works. Did what you wanted to tell me have anything to do with you eating human food now?" she asked in amazement as she watched me shove a giant forkful of whatever it was I was eating into my mouth.

"In part," I replied. "As you've probably guessed I've given up blood. No blood, human or animal, has passed my lips in almost a year." Okay, so that wasn't technically a lie, I said _almost_. As we continued to eat I gave her an edited version of what I went through, minus any dates.

We were almost done with breakfast, and my story, when Alice and Jasper came in. Although he had only heard the tail end of it, Jasper began pestering me with question after question about my experience.

"How did you do it?" "Did you cut yourself off from humans, or immerse yourself in with them?" "What about animal blood?" "Do you still crave human blood?" "What about animal blood?" "When did the cravings end?" "What about if there is open blood around you?" "Have you tried…" he went on and on, but I didn't want to tell him exactly what and why I did what I did. Admitting, in front of Renesmee, that I was motivated by the fear that I might lose control and drain her would most likely eliminate any chance I had with her, especially because it took many more attempts with Renesmee stand-ins to succeed than I hoped. Instead I just kept my answers vague.

"It was something I had to do," I said but could see he was looking for more. "Jasper, picture life without Alice. Could you change your diet, not only giving up human blood, but even your desire for it, if it meant that that was the only way to keep her?"

"I see," he said, probably giving up on getting a real answer from me. "Thank you for your time. I'll catch up with you more, later," he said to me, before taking off as his mate grabbed Renesmee and whisked her away to go shopping.

That left me sitting alone at the table with the dog.

Bella and Edward were probably around here somewhere, but I didn't see them. It was time to leave. While I hadn't finished eating, I'd lost my appetite all the same. Esme was probably waiting for me anyway. Carlisle had mentioned how excited she was to get started redecorating the guest room and make it MY room. I wasn't sure what she meant. Alice had bought me more clothes, so I would not stand out amongst their neighbors and there was a bed, a very comfortable bed, in there already for me to sleep in. What more did I need?

Four hours later I was in color scheme hell. What did it matter what color the walls were? For that matter I couldn't understand why she was so concerned about my preference for wood species. It wasn't until we got to the subject of plants that I got excited. I'd lived most of my life outside, in the Brazilian Rainforest. Having a little of the outdoors inside was something that I greatly appreciated. Lampshade silhouettes… not so much.


	13. Tortured Music

**The Jaguar Versus the Wolf**

**Chapter 13 - ****Tortured Music**

**Orbiting Satellites Book Two, Chapter 13 - ****The College Plan**** companion**

* * *

I woke up to the sounds of some weird noise and bits of conversation but they were all from different voices, different dialects, male, female, babies, animals, some were just random sound effects. I wasn't sure what was going on until I walked into living room and it all made sense. Esme was flipping through the channels on the television.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you? I should have lowered the volume on this thing. I was just looking for distraction this morning while Carlisle is at work."

"No, it's fine. I should have woken by now anyway. I guess the new bed you acquired for me is just a little too comfortable. What are you watching?" I asked, more to make conversation than anything else.

"Nothing in particular," she admitted. "I was just searching to see if something caught my eye. What are your plans for today?"

"I'm not sure. I'll probably go and visit Renesmee in a little bit but I believe she said she was occupied this morning so I really have nothing to do for now."

"Well, in that case would you like to watch something with me?" she asked while handing me the remote.

I took it and began flipping through the channels just as she had done.

NO! It couldn't be. She was dead. So why was her picture on the television?

"Did you know that woman?" Esme asked me. "She's lovely. Such a tragedy that she was murdered."

"Err... No," I lied, while quickly continued to flip the channels. "I was just surprised to hear my native tongue." The news report had been in Portuguese, which apparently Esme understood.

"Oh, of course. Well we like to keep informed, so in addition to every cable channel available we also have a satellite dish that receives most of the words broadcast channels. That way we can get the news from all over the world… just in case," she cryptically added.

But it was good. It meant the story about the woman I had murdered wasn't as far reaching as I first dreaded. I'd picked her because she looked like she had money, which I was desperately in need of at the time. I hadn't realized she was the niece of a prominent politician. That meant the authorities wouldn't stop looking for her killer anytime soon. It had already been several months. If I had been more careful, picked some nobody, it would have been out of the news within a week, possibly as soon as a day or two. But now the authorities would keep looking until they found the murderer, or more likely a patsy that could blame and close the case. Corruption was high in most parts of South America, like most places. The police wouldn't care if they found the right person as long as they found someone and it's not like there's any way they could tie the murder back to me.

Being a hybrid had its advantages. Not only did I not shed any hair to leave behind, but since venom flowed through my body I also didn't perspire, and oil was not expelled through my pores, which also meant no fingerprints were left anywhere.

For the first time in my life I was thankful for Joham, and his experiments, and that I had bothered to pay attention on one of his visits when he went on and on about some knew discovery he made about Serena or Maysun.

I wanted to go back to the news report, but didn't want Esme getting suspicious. So I kept flipping channels until I came across a movie that looked interesting.

Esme and I sat in silence and watched until Carlisle returned from his job and they both excused themselves.

I continued to watch the movie until I heard some music coming from Edward and Bella's house.

Edward cherished his piano almost as much as he loved his mate. His preferred genre seemed to be a grand classical style. While Edward had taught Bello to play, she seemed to prefer her books, and Renesmee veered more to contemporary songs. I had a feeling that was what I was hearing now. I was unfamiliar with the tune, but it was simple and sweet. It sounded beautiful, mostly. There was this strange plucking sound every once in a while that broke the rhythm of the song. The only thing I could think to explain it was that she was tuning the piano as she played.

Hmmm, glancing at the clock on my wall I saw that it was after ten. I'd slept through breakfast. It was that dumb dogs fault. He'd kept me up last night. No, not him personally, but he got me thinking. It was just a passing comment, but he mentioned some foolishness about him and Renesmee going to school together this year.

Why did she need to do that? There was nothing there that would require her to go all the hours he was talking about. I had hoped that this year would be the same as the last - the Cullens (and Renesmee's stupid guard dog) would busy themselves at school during the day so I could be alone with her. Renesmee attending with them was not part of the plan. It was going to cut into a large chunk of my time with her. I needed that time. There wasn't that much left to make her my mate. She needed to do it willingly, and I didn't know how long that might take. And then who knew how long it would take to get her pregnant, never mind the fact that the gestation period of two hybrids was an unknown. While I didn't think so, the possibility needed to be taken into account that it might even take the normal human nine months.

Jennifer had made me aware that her menstrual cycle was not the typical twenty-eight day cycle. It had slowed down and spread out as she'd aged. Also taking into account that she had only bleed for anywhere from a few hours to a day at most, meant the window for conception of a female hybrid was short, very short. Timing would be everything. That or we might just need to mate 24/7 throughout her ovulation window. That idea brought a smile to my face.

Of course we would need to get there as a couple first.

Hoping that it was her, and not Edward or Bella, tuning the instrument, I grabbed my pan flute, before heading over to her house, thinking I could entice her to playing a duet with me once the piano was ready.

I found her sitting at the piano, but my assumption had been wrong. She wasn't tuning it. And not just that. I figured the dog would be nearby, but hadn't planned on her giving him a music lesson. That was the true cause of the awful sound. But it wasn't the piano he was torturing, it was a guitar.

"You should stick to howling at the moon," I said to him as I entered the room. So much for sucking up. While they both looked up at me, only Renesmee smiled. Not that I cared. "If you're so desperate for a partner, Renesmee, perhaps I could offer you my services." The dog growled, picking up on my double meaning.

"Do you play the piano? Or guitar?" she asked, which earned me another growl from the dog.

"I've played something similar, back home," I admitted, "but have my pan flute with me," I said holding it up for her to see the multiple pipes of gradually increasing length and girth. I'd made it myself. My Aunt taught me when I was around two. The first one I ever made was of sugar cane. The heat and dampness of the Rainforest ensured it didn't last long. Not even a decade. I kept remaking them for almost a century as needed, until Huilen suggested I make my next one of more stable material. This one I made almost forty years ago and was made from ivory, but I carved it to resemble bamboo. It wasn't only for ascetic reasons, the slight undulations and curves naturally present in reeds affected the instruments sound in a way I found pleasing and had been sure to replicate. I also added a few small pebbles inside, to correct for pitch, here and there.

"If you play that piece one more time, I think I'll have it down enough to accompany you." _Take that dog_, I silently said to him with a glare and a smirk.

"I guess we could take a short break, Jacob," Renesmee told the dog, effectively dismissing him.

He mentioned something about getting a snack, I think, but didn't really pay attention to his ramblings. He left, which is all I cared about. I was finally alone with Renesmee.

This was the first time since the disaster of last year, and didn't want to mess things up again by going too fast. For today I stuck to just playing alongside her. In truth, I didn't really have that much of a choice. My flute required the use of my mouth and hands. I couldn't talk and play at the same time.

We played seven songs together before her dog returned and the magic we were creating through our eyes died. BOSTA!

"That sounded really beautiful," Edward said, appearing behind the dog. "But I think that is enough for today. It's almost lunch time and then, Nessie I believe you and Jacob still have to register for your classes for school. The deadline is coming up, so make sure you get it done soon.

"May we continue this sometime tomorrow?" I asked her.

"I don't know, it might take awhile for Jake and I to…"

I'm sure you could spare an hour after lunch," Edward interjected.

The dog scowled, but Renesmee and I smiled, happy that we had a date planned.

"It's not a date," Edward informed me, before ushering the three of us into the kitchen.

* * *

**A.N.** just a short chapter today. Happy Turkey Day!

Enjoy and Please review


	14. The Chess Plan

**The Jaguar Versus the Wolf**

**Chapter 14 – The Chess Plan**

**Orbiting Satellites Book Two, Chapter 14 - ****C****ollege (and Trouble) Begins**** companion**

* * *

Argh! It was even worse than I thought. Not only was Renesmee attending school full time, but all of her classes were with the dog. That meant I wouldn't even have time with her while he was in class and she wasn't, like I did last year. I could work around the Cullens. Getting past him would be harder, if not impossible.

Still, I had to try.

Each day I tried to talk to her, endear myself to her, but to get close enough was a weird game of cat and mouse. It required me to keep my distance, hide in the shadows; slink around corners, until the dog was out of sight… then I would pounce. My Aunt hadn't named me after a jungle cat for nothing. Stealth and prowlness were two of my strengths. Even so the most I got was an hour (tops) before her guard dog reappeared. And even when he left us, he never really left, only fading into the next room, just out of eyesight, but still within hearing range.

Had I really spent any time with Renesmee? No. Not anything that I would consider quality _alone_ time; nothing that was just the two of us. She was either with that damn dog, or him AND one or more members of her family.

That was when she was not at school. When she was gone I had nothing but empty time on my hands.

It had been less than a week before I became completely bored. In that time my room had been repainted by Esme, the new furniture she ordered had been delivered and installed. I'd arranged, rearranged, and re-rearrange the furniture in my room multiple times. Bella had even taken me grocery shopping, with her, to better cook meals she thought I would like. Yet I found myself wanting.

I wanted… I needed her, but alas… Renesmee…

At this point I was so on edge I would even consider letting Alice take me shopping again.

A few days ago, even after knowing me these past few years, Alice had decided that she was finally _beginning_ to understand my clothing style and had made me accompany her into the nearest town to buy me an entirely new wardrobe. Despite my best efforts to point out that she'd just bought me new clothes when I first returned, she insisted that they were all wrong for me and _needed_ to make it right.

I'd put my foot down when she suggested doing it again a few days ago, but now I was so bored I was actually reconsidering.

I wanted to do something besides endlessly watching hour after hour of television. Esme had installed one of those devices in my bedroom soon after I first moved in this year, once she saw how… _unoccupied_ my life currently was. She'd mentioned how she had Renesmee watch it last year to prepare her to be around humans in the real world, and safely observe normal human interactions. After a few days of binging I picked up some of the common phrases and sayings that seemed to be popular in the States, but I was also horrified to think that what I saw was how average Americans normally behaved.

I needed to quickly make Renesmee my mate so we could escape this craziness and return to the sanity of the Rainforest.

In the meantime I was still looking for something to do while Renesmee was at school. Something worthwhile, not just to occupy my time. Something that would grab Renesmee's attention and make her _want_ to spend time with me. Music was an option. But I had already tried that with limited results. I thought about accompanying her while she hunted, but the dog would probably not relinquish her safety to me and insist on coming along. I needed something I could do with her, at her house that could potentially take multiple hours and would not activate her guard dog's protector instincts.

The last time I was here we had, on occasion played chess together. I admit I was not in any way _good_ at the game. While I understood the rules and objective, long term strategy was definitely not a strength of mine.

Renesmee seemed to enjoy her misguided attempts to teach the dog how to play the guitar, perhaps she would also be willing to do the same with me and the chess board. I didn't want to embarrass myself though. She already knew, or thought she knew how bad I was at the game; while she was at school I would educate myself. When I'd gained the necessary skills I'd approach her about lessons then she would begin to see how right we were for each other.

I would need help. My Aunt Huilen had almost always been victorious whenever we would play. I'd only ever won a handful of matches in the one hundred and fifty years we'd first come into this existence.

"Emmett," I softly called when I saw him come home from class. "I was thinking of starting a game of chess and was wondering if you would join me?"

"I don't know, dude. Chess really isn't my game."

"But surely you know how to play?"

"Why this sudden need to play chess?" his mate… err wife, as they preferred in this _family_, asked me. Knowing how mates hate to be apart from each other, if Huilen and Roberto were any indication, I should have figured she'd follow him. Looking at the judgmental look on her face I could tell she'd guessed there was a specific reason behind my request other than enjoyment of the game, so I admitted how it was part of my ploy to spend time with Renesmee.

"Oh… too bad neither of us play," Rosalie quickly informed me, before dragging Emmett off with her to their house.

Liar! I had seen both of them play on multiple occasions in the past.

"Come on, Nahuel," Jasper sympathetically said to me. He had arrived back home from school at the same time as them, but had hung back, choosing to sit in his car until now. "I'll teach you to play," he lightly chuckled. "Though I'm not sure it'll do you any good."

Why did he laugh? Did he think I was incapable of learning to play better? Or win against him?

Well, I would show him.

* * *

No! No! No! How did I lose again?

"Don't feel so bad, Nahuel, it takes years to master the game," Jasper said, while at the same time using his gift to send calming waves my way. I instantly relaxed, but his gift did nothing to clear up my confusion. I thought I'd done everything right.

He disappeared and then a second later reappeared with a few books in his hand. "Here," he handed them to me. "These seemed to help Renesmee. Why don't you try reading them as well and see if they will do the same for you." Turning the first one over in my hands I saw that it was a book on chess strategies. The next was one that recounted master chess games by Bobby Fisher. His name wasn't familiar but the back cover seemed to proclaim him as some sort of chess prodigy. The third would have made me want to through it back at him if he weren't already manipulating my emotions. Chess for Dummies? Really?

"Just give it a try. It's more informative than you might think," he told me. "Once you have we can schedule a rematch." Then he left.

I guess that meant I either had to read the stupid books or find a new teacher.

Reluctantly I opened the first book.


	15. Cheek-to-Cheek

**The Jaguar Versus the Wolf**

**Chapter 15 – Cheek-to-Cheek**

**Orbiting Satellites Book Two, Chapter 15 - ****The Tough Talk**** companion**

* * *

Her hair looked so lovely today. There seemed to be an extra curl or bounce to it. I had been staring at her, across from the chessboard for over an hour. She'd won the last two games, I knew her dog was keeping a constant watch on me from the doorway. Not that I cared. What I cared about was the girl in front of me. Her, and her amazing hair. At this very moment it reminded me of a commercial I'd recently seen for French Fries. Yum, I think I'll have to remember to tell Bella the next time she goes grocery shopping to pick some up.

Food! I never thought I would come to love it as I have. Back in the Rainforest there were options to choose from, once I had turned away from blood. I had always been able to eat human food, and had, when the need or desire occurred. But I'd lived one hundred and fifty years before I truly began to appreciate the wonder of it. Certain foods were truly amazing. French fries being one of them.

"What's he thinking about?" I heard the dog whisper to Edward, as I was about to move my rook.

"Nothing that would worry you," he replied.

"Don't lie to me," he snarled back. That got Renesmee's attention. I didn't think she'd even noticed her guard dog was still in the house if he hadn't.

"Your move," I said to her, attempting to get her to switch her focus back to me… the game.

She didn't even hesitate, or take any time to think, as she easily swooped in and took my knight (I hadn't even seen that possibility). I thought she was going after my Queen. Why did she just take my knight? First it was my pawns. That was normal. Then a bishop. Not great for me, but I understood her reasoning. But my knight? That I couldn't understand. I was trying to figure out what to do next, but was getting distracted by our chaperones in the corner. For some reason Edwards single answer of "Food" made the dogs eyes burst open.

"Is she in danger?" the dog asked next.

"Not unless she turns into a potato," he snorted. "You need to start listening to me when I tell you that he's changed. She's perfectly safe with him."

That was the last I heard from the dog as he made a "Humph!" sound. I hoped he would have stormed out of the room and left us alone, but instead he stomped over and took a seat on the couch by Renesmee, glared at me the entire way.

Great! One more annoyance and I still had no idea how to save my Queen. It took me over twelve minutes, staring at the chessboard, but after considering every possible move I finally moved my Queen four spaces to the left, out of danger. I was safe.

I looked up to Renesmee, basking in my victory. But it was short lived. I thought she was going to look upset, possibly angry, but instead she looked smug. Her hand quickly dashed over to her knight and captured my King.

I lost.

While it was upsetting I thought that maybe I could use this to my advantage. "Rematch?"

"You want to play me again after that humiliating defeat?" she chuckled, but not in a mean way. It was more playful and gave me hope. "Maybe you should have a few more lessons with Jasper first."

"Oh, I will. Don't you worry," I assured her. "What do you think I do all day while you are at school? Give me three days."

"So you don't want to see me until then?" she questioned.

"I'm sure we can find other ways to entertain ourselves until then. There's a movie that's scheduled to appear on the television tomorrow that I was hoping to watch. Would you like to view it with me? And perhaps if you are not too busy you would join me in the gardens behind Esme's house and help me select some flowers for the entry table."

The dog rolled his eyes at my suggestion, and I got worried that my ideas would not impress Renesmee, but to his, and (somewhat) my surprise, she agreed. But it was somewhat reluctantly, it seemed. Perhaps I would need to come up with a way to spice up the events.

That night, instead of getting some much needed sleep, I thought and thought. It wasn't till half past two when I finally came up with an idea to make my time with Renesmee more exciting for her tomorrow. I still planned on watching the musical, but decided some close dancing (cheek-to-cheek as they say) during the movie's musical numbers might be enjoyable.

It would have been the perfect night, had it not been for her dog's constant presence. Try as I might I couldn't block out his annoying glares, and almost growls, every time he thought I got too close to Renesmee. While I'd of preferred he leave, or not be here begin with, I knew how unlikely that was. At least he kept to the side of the room, propping himself up against the far wall.

Halfway through the movie I was worried about how the night was going. I flat out asked her and though Renesmee said she was having a nice time, she seemed bothered; without any hints from her I was left not knowing why. There was the chance it was because of the dog's presence, but he was always with her.

"Do you not like the movie?" Bella told me that _West Side Story_ was one of Renesmee's favorites.

On the off chance it was because her dog was getting more and more upset as the night went on, I took a gamble and on the next song asked her if she wanted to dance with him instead. Though he was only a glorified bodyguard, and not anything in the way of real competition, at least romantically, it didn't seem like it would be that big of a deal. They both were shocked at my suggestion, probably never having thought to do something like that together on their own, but agreed.

Watching them I knew I was right. They had never danced together before. While Renesmee was a hybrid, like myself, and naturally graceful, dancing with her dog managed to strip her of her natural grace and left the two of them clumsy and awkward with their movements. They were aware of this as well and hastily retreated from each other as soon as the song ended. They couldn't seem to look at each other after that. Were they embarrassed by the modest dance, or how bad they did? Either way at least the dog stopped glaring at me for the rest of the night and I didn't hear another peep out of him until the credits began to roll.

"Time for bed, Nessie," he announced, not even giving me a chance to tell her what a wonderful time I had with her. He whisked her off to her room before I got to open my mouth.

No matter. We still had plans to pick flowers tomorrow morning. And I had a few other ideas too. Enough to keep us busy and her entertained for the next few months.

* * *

This was getting ridiculous! Another week had passed and after all my efforts I barely saw Renesmee. And every time I did that stupid dog was with her. If I was ever going to have a chance I needed to just suck it up and deal with him being there as well. Or better yet pretend he wasn't.

She and the dog were in the middle of a chess game when I entered her living room.

"I call winner" I said casually to neither of them, knowing Renesmee normally would win... against the dog anyway.

"Here, take my place," he said, surprising both of us, and laying down his King. "I need to work on my car anyway," he added, shocking me further by leaving us alone.

Huh?

* * *

**A.N.** Well that's an interesting change in Jake. What do you think?

Please review.


	16. The Lecture to End All Lectures

**The Jaguar Versus the Wolf**

**Chapter 16 - ****The Lecture to End All Lectures**

**Orbiting Satellites Book Two, Chapter 16 - ****Driving and Dating** **companion**

* * *

I was reading one of the books in Carlisle and Esme's library when Renesmee came in. "Where's your bodyguard?" I expected the dog to be following her, but I didn't see him, didn't even smell him anywhere in the house.

"He's in the garage with my Aunt. They should be occupied for some time. That's why I came here now; I wanted to speak with you alone."

"Gladly." I said, throwing down the book. This was the first time she had sought me out. Normally it was me trying to weasel my way into her life. "What is it you wanted my dear?"

Judging by her reaction, my calling her something other than her name did not go over as well as I hoped.

"Err… I wanted to talk to you about us."

Oh, so maybe I was not so far off the mark as I had just thought. But I didn't want to jump to conclusions like last year in the woods. "What about us?"

"Well… I've been speaking to my father about the possibility of us dating."

"You have?" I didn't mean to interrupt, but the fact that she actually talked to Edward about this was amazing progress.

"Actually… no." Her face, that just a moment ago held a cautious smile, now showed… sadness, I think. "In all honesty he was the one who brought the idea up with me." Oh, that's not good. "He…" she paused, "rather reluctantly," she whispered, under her breath, before returning to a more normal tone of voice, "came to me the other day, wanting to speak about my…" she hesitated again, "you know my… my deadline." This was clearly a struggle for her to talk about. Not wanting to interrupt her again, I let her continue, but despite her discomfort, her words were making me very happy at the possibilities they might hold. "He heard me thinking about how much I was looking forward to having a child, that's why he thought he needed to talk to me. I want to make this next part very clear Nahuel." She took a deep breath, before continuing. "I don't believe I'm ready to become _someone's_ mate, but I need to start somewhere. And that somewhere is dating... You," she added as if it wasn't already clear.

"I thought that what we had been doing already was perfectly acceptable," she continued. "Hanging around the house, reading books together, watching movies, playing chess; but my father seems to think that we need more one-on-one alone time to really get to know each other first. He suggested we start dating."

"Yes!" I readily agreed, trying not to shout. But there was one thing we needed to talk about first. "About your wolf…" I began to ask her. There was no point in us dating if he was only going to interfere; prevent us from growing closer.

"I'll make sure he keeps his distance," she assured me, already understanding where I was going with my question.

"Wonderful I can be ready in twenty seconds. Where would you like to go on our first date?"

"Actually I think I'm going to need some time first to prepare," she backtracked, the shock outweighing the calm façade she was trying to project.

"Of course." I'd seen on television how woman prefer to get dressed up when they go out on a date. "Would tonight work better for you?"

"I was thinking more along the lines of a few weeks from now. Or maybe even a month. Even if I talk to Jacob this moment he is still going to need some time. It's going to be a big shock to him and I'm not sure how he's going to take the news. I think if you're going to have any chance surviving the evening he's going to need some time to cool down first."

A month? I'd waited over one hundred and fifty years for Renesmee. One month I was nothing and it gave me time to plan the perfect date. Even as she continued to rattle off reasons why a month was a justifiable amount of time to wait, none of which concerned me, I began picturing the two of us together; wrapped in each other's arms, her soft hair cascading over her shoulders, the feel of her eyelashes on my cheek as I kissed her, the touch of her warm body underneath mine. Then I began thinking of the taste of her lips, her skin, her blood... NO! As soon as that thought entered my mind I banished it. I hadn't thought about drinking blood for months. Now I had as soon as the possibility of being with Renesmee was made real.

Bosta!

Perhaps this month would be good for me as well. I would need that time to prepare myself, regain the control I thought I already had.

Perhaps if I gorged myself on human food that would be enough to drive away any lingering desire for her blood on its own.

* * *

"Bella, there you are. Everyone else is either at school or hunting. I need your help. Since your husband doesn't want me running all around the state I was wondering if you could give me a ride into town. I need to pick up a few things,"

"Didn't Jasper just drive you to the store yesterday?"

"Yes, I'd run out of chips." They'd rapidly become one of my new favorite foods, especially the sour cream kind. It's a good thing I was a hybrid, because I'd been trying to eat two, sometimes three bags a day. If I were human, would probably either gain a few hundred pounds, or develop diabetes, or a heart condition quickly.

"You're out again?" She looked at me in disbelief.

"No," I assured her. I'd stocked up so there would be no possibility of running out, and being hungry, for anything, until Esme or Bella went food shopping again.

It was wonderful being here in New Hampshire. Mostly because of Renesmee. With our first date finally scheduled things were rapidly improving on that front. And the Cullens were hospitable enough, but I missed my Aunt and my home. Bringing a little of home here might go a long way to making me feel better. "I was hoping you could take me to a flower store."

"I thought your date wasn't for another few weeks?" Despair started to set in at the thought that she was going to turn down my request, but as she talked she grabbed her car keys.

While she drove I let her in on my plans, but when we got to the store I discovered that they did not carry the types of plants I was looking for. No one in the state did.

"Don't worry, everything is available online." Bella seemed to understand how important this was for me and once we returned home she was able to order me seeds so I could grow the plants myself.

"Nahuel you got some mail," Esme said to me a week later as she, Carlisle, and Edward returned from their hunting trip. I was in the kitchen, devouring a blueberry pie.

The envelope contained the seeds I ordered but my excitement quickly dwindled when I read the accompanying paperwork and learned that they were unlikely to grow in a north-eastern climate.

"Not to worry, Nahuel," she said. "I'm sure we can find a way to work around that. What about a green house? We could build one in the backyard."

"That's very kind, but I don't think so."

"Nahuel feels that it would negate his idea if he had to go to another building to be surrounded by the flowers," Edward explained.

"Perhaps we could turn one of the rooms here into a greenhouse for you. Would that work?" Carlisle asked.

That seemed like a wonderful idea and we quickly came up with a list of supplies that would be needed to turn the mostly unused dining room into a sunroom.

"Most of these things can be ordered fairly easily online, but we should buy some of the supplies in town, so the neighbors don't get suspicious about us," Esme said.

"Excellent. If someone can give me a ride I can pick these up tomorrow."

"Nahuel, I think it's time you learned to drive," Edward then said to me.

Drive? No, I couldn't. I didn't like technology. It reminded me too much of my father. And I tried to avoid anything that had to do with him. It was already hard enough for me to ride in cars when I needed to, driving would just be beyond anything that I would be capable of handling.

"Nessie wants to learn. The two of you could take driving lessons together," he said.

Of course he knew my weakness when it came to his daughter, but I still didn't think it would be enough to make me want to…

"If you learned, then you could drive her on your date in a couple of weeks."

"Fine," I said, trying to not sound too eager.

* * *

My date with Renesmee was in a few minutes. Tonight I would finally solidify my relationship with her and make Renesmee my mate. I was currently standing in her living room waiting for her to be ready. While she had told me that it was her father's idea that we start dating, now that it was here he didn't seem happy, actually he seemed almost angry. And Bella looked sad.

"Nahuel, are you familiar with the term courting?" he asked me.

"Huh?"

"How about namoro? The strictest translation."

Oh. My heart sank. If I understood Edward correctly, that meant that I would not be mating with his daughter; at least not tonight. He growled. Or any time soon apparently.

"You are correct," he told me. "Nessie is to remain untouched; until SHE decides that SHE is ready to advance her relationship with you. While you are cognizant of her reproductive deadline, it by no means, justifies rushing things between the two of you. It may happen in a month, a year, or a decade; or it may not happen ever."

"But I thought…"

"You will NOT mate with my daughter," Edward stressed, raising his voice, but keeping it from becoming a yell. "Also, unless you want me to sick Rosalie on you, you will not kiss, hug, snuggle, caress, fondle, or even hold her hand, unless SHE initiates it. Do I make myself clear?"

"It seems like I don't have any other choice."

"Is that all that you were looking for here? To father a child?" Edward seethed. Hearing her husband say that, Bella started growling at me as well. "My daughter means nothing to you, other than a receptacle to -"

"No, of course not," I cut him off. "Renesmee is amazing." I quickly added. "Yes, I want to have a child, so of course her deadline is on my mind, but if that doesn't happen then…"

Before I could finish my statement Renesmee came out of her room.

"Renesmee, we would like to have a word with you before you leave with Nahuel tonight," Edward called to his daughter. "Um, Renesmee you remember what we talked about before?" Judging by his expression I guessed he already gave her the same _no mating_ lecture.

"Yes of course, dad."

"Alright then, you two go and have fun tonight and we will see you when you get back," he simply said, while Bella hugged her daughter. I thought they were going to say something else, or threaten me again, but neither of them said another word to me. So before they started up again I led Renesmee to Bella's car. She'd mentioned earlier that we could take it since she never used it anyway. I still didn't like driving, even worse since Edward forced me to be taught by the dog, which had only been made bearable by the fact that Renesmee was in the car as well. He wasn't a bad teacher; I just didn't want to be near him if I didn't need to be. And we weren't even going far, seventeen miles, easily run-able, but the Cullens stressed maintaining a human façade so I drove.

Emmett gave me the idea to go to a Christmas Tree farm. When he suggested it I thought it was a wonderful idea. There was nature, the night sky, other couples walking around, twinkling lights, a romantic festive atmosphere... But our first date wasn't going as well as I had hoped.

I wasn't sure what the problem was. Renesmee definitely seemed a bit hesitant as we wandered through the trees. Only a few of them, every now and then, were lit up, probably so the humans wouldn't stumble into one another with their weak eyesight. I thought they added to the romantic atmosphere.

Could whatever the problem was be me?

I'd been thinking of Edward's words the entire night and his warning to not attempt anything with his daughter, so I don't see how I could have made her uncomfortable. I hadn't laid a hand on her. And yet she was growing more uncomfortable by the minute. Maybe that was it. Maybe she wanted me to touch her… to make the first move. Fearing getting my arm ripped off I instead tried talking.

"It doesn't seem like you are enjoying yourself. Would you prefer to end the evening?" I don't think either one of us could take the tension any longer.

She only nodded.

"Okay," I sadly replied, turning us around, back in the direction of the car. Before I returned her to her parents I decided to ask Renesmee where she wanted to go for our second date… if she wanted one. Perhaps the outdoors was not something she enjoyed, so I suggested a more human activity, seeing as how her family liked to pretend to live as they did. While I didn't know much of North American culture, the television was incredibly helpful and I learned that watching a movie and eating dinner at a fancy restaurant together was a typical first date. Since our actual first day was such a disaster I thought it might be fine for a second date as well, or even a do-over of our first.

"No! Absolutely not," she practically yelled, seemingly shocked at the very idea. "The outdoors is much more appropriate," she told me after she calmed down. It was then that I remembered how much she despised human food. It was funny, she had acclimated herself so well to human life, it slipped my mind that that was one of the things that she did not care for. I use to share her despise of human food, only finding it tolerable when needed, but she seemed against the idea of going to see a moving picture as well. "How about we start off on something simple, I like the idea of having dinner together, but let's do it outside," she suggested. "There's a forest, not too far from here, I can feed and we can bring a picnic basket for you."

"It's a date," I happily replied, and we set up a time to meet the day after next, at 5pm.

When we returned to Renesmee's house Emmett and Rosalie where there to greet us. Or not. Rosalie couldn't stop laughing and Emmett just shrugged his shoulders. After Renesmee went to her room he mumbled something like "You're not the one that has to live with Rose." Apparently it was supposed to be his version of an apology. I still didn't understand but didn't think I would be taking either one of their advice again.

Our second date went much better. Renesmee seemed to have a wonderful time.

As the weeks went on things began to get better and better. We took some strolls, went stargazing and sightseeing (outdoors only, at her request), raced through the mountains, even had a picnic where she ate human food too. I learned that Renesmee had an affinity for eating a variety of fruits, if nothing else.

All this time, I hadn't tried to kiss her. It was hard but Edward was always giving me these _looks_ when we would leave, tapping his forehead, reminding me that he would know if I tried anything.

I'd have to wait for her to make the first move. She seemed so strong and independent. She knew her deadline as well as I did. Surely if she wanted to kiss me then nothing was going to stop her, she just wasn't ready yet. We had time, not a lot, but I could give her a little.

The next night we had another date planned, another picnic. Everything was going well until I heard something in the bushes. Anyone else would have thought it was just an animal, but most animals were smart. They knew Vampires were dangerous and keep their distance. Dogs on the other hand were apparently incredibly stupid. I grabbed the first thing I saw and threw with all my might. The whimper I heard a second later let me know I hit my mark. Good, I growled. I wasn't sure I was going to, only having a faint idea of where he was.

"Nahuel, it is okay, it's just Jacob," Renesmee said. She must not have realized I already knew that. But how had she? I was about to ask but she dashed over to him before I could. "Jacob, are you hurt very badly?"

"I'll be fine, honey."

They both knew? Had they planned him coming along? "What is your wolf doing here?"

"Nahuel, you know Jacob is my protector, of course he's here. He's always with me. You know that. Did you really expect him to be sitting at home waiting for us to return?" she acted as if it was obvious.

It then dawned on me that he must have tagged along on all of our dates. That must have been why she insisted they all be outdoors. "Yes, I'm well aware of his duties, but I was expecting you to call him off during our _private_ time together. Can't you give him the night off or something?"

"I'll go wherever I want!" he growled.

"Nahuel, that's not how it works. Jacob's here to protect me," Renesmee said.

"I see. And he feels like he needs to protect you from me." She didn't trust me. Or was it him who didn't think I could control myself around her?

_He would keep his distance,_ that's what she had promised me a month ago. I thought that meant we would be alone on our dates. Not that he would be lurking a few meters away.

"No, I'm sure that's not it," she said. "He trusts you, I know he does, I even heard him tell Aunt Rose how much you have changed and there was no need to worry. But there are other dangers out here, and Jacob would never take my safety for granted."

"In that case, may I suggest a compromise," I suggested if only to test that belief. "I believe that I'm more than capable of protecting Renesmee as well as you. Jacob, you should of course continue to watch over her while she is attending school and during her hunting trips. But I would request that you let me oversee her care during our dates. I'm sure the two of us would be more than capable of handling anything we would come across out here. And I believe Renesmee carries a phone that she can call you if we happen to run into an army of rogue Vampires out roaming around the New Hampshire wilderness."

"Jacob, please," Renesmee said to her dog. I didn't see why she pretended to be so nice to him. Couldn't she just order him to go away? He seemed to do everything else she told him to do.

"Fine, but if I see anything damaged on her, I'll do the same to you. Splinter, skinned knee, broken arm, or worse, you get the same... understand?" Was he really trying to threaten me? Pathetic. I agreed but only to end this ridiculous discussion.

It started raining and the car was parked more than a mile away.

We ran and made it before getting completely soaked. As much as I hated the idea of the dog riding with us, Renesmee would have never forgiven me if I made him run home, so the three of us drove together, like one weird dysfunctional family.

During the ride I realized that if we were going to become mates there could be no lies, no secrets between us. I had to tell her about my past. I had alluded to it last year, but hadn't gone into great detail. I would need to, if only to clear my conscience. And to let her know of the risk she might be taking being with me.

My self control was only iffy, at best, when I got really into carnal activities. Staying in control – without feeding _and_ breaking whoever I was with had never been tested. Now that I'd made the decision to commit to Renesmee, having sex with a random stranger, to assure myself and test my control seemed wrong somehow.

"So every time you would feed it would be while you were with someone?" she asked me after I was done telling my tale the next evening.

"Yes," I confirmed. "It's not uncommon for our kind, and it would ensure that there would be no progeny from my conquests." I thought my logic was sound but she looked horrified.

"Three women a month on average, twelve months a year, one hundred and fifty years, that's roughly… five thousand four hundred women you've slept with. And killed," she added with a gulp. "And you want me to be number five thousand four hundred and one."

"No Renesmee, it's not like that. I genuinely care for you. I want to be with you and only you from now on."

"I… I need some time to think," she said.

Those were the last words she spoke to me for an entire month. A month! She had left me stewing all that time, without a word, a smile, or even a look, while she decided if she could move forward with me… us.

Finally when I was about to pull my hair out Bella came and found me in the forest to tell me that her daughter wanted to talk to me. "She's waiting for you in the greenhouse."

I ran as fast as I could, not knowing if when I got there I would be continuing our romance, or rejected and sent packing once again.

"Renesmee?" I hesitantly called, as I walked into the former dining room turned green house.

She had her back to me, but when she turned around she returned her own hesitant smile.

I wasn't being sent packing like I'd feared!

But we were also not going to pick up where we left off, not that our relationship had advanced very far… or at all, but she insisted we start over. A clean slate, she said. No new dates had been scheduled but I was hopeful. She had already beaten me twice this afternoon, and as far as I could tell was about to capture my Queen.

"So there's this show I heard about," Renesmee mentioned the following day as we played a game of chess. "Its next week and I wanted to go to it and thought you might like to come with me."

She was asking me out? Wonderful. No matter the type of music I wouldn't say no.

"I'd love to. Who are we seeing?"

"It's not that type of show. It's an Engineering Lecture on _Yielding and Plasticity_. It's being given at MIT in Cambridge, they are opening it up to the public. Jake's going with me, but I thought you might like to come too."

"Great, looking forward to it," I lied through my teeth, trying my best to hide my disappointment.

Once we were there I wished I hadn't. It was the most boring thing I'd ever experienced in my entire extra long life. I know English wasn't my first language, but I didn't think they were even speaking that. Yet the dog seemed to be following along well enough. That annoyed me more than anything. And he seemed to enjoy every huff I made as he smugly took his notes.

Hopefully this was the last of these events that I would have to attend. I looked forward to the day when Renesmee and I were mated and living back home in the jungle.

"Would you like to take a run with me after this?" I asked her a little more than an hour into the lecture.

"Huh? Oh, sure," she said. But I wasn't sure she really heard me.

"There's this place I spotted on our drive down here that looked like it might offer some tempting hunting grounds."

"Oh… are you hungry?" she then turned to ask me, looking confused.

"No, but I thought you might like it."

She took a few seconds to answer, too caught up in the speaker's ramblings. "I went hunting with Jake a few days ago. I'm fine."

"Then we could just enjoy the view."

Again there was another long pause before she answered. "Um… I don't know. It'll probably be pretty late by the time the lecture is over and it will take us a while to drive home."

Humph! I snorted at the same time that the dog started snickering. That got Renesmee upset and silenced the both of us with a quick "Shh!"

"Sorry," the dog apologized, as he went back to taking notes. Pathetic. I might not have a clue what the speaker was talking about, but I could at least recite everything, just as well as Renesmee, word for word once the lecture was done. Or I would, if I was paying better attention.

Over the next hour I entertained myself by imagining what the humans in the lecture hall would look like as Vampires. Some, the prettier ones, it was not that hard – a straighter nose, tighter jawline, muscle where fat currently resided, smoother, blemish free skin, these were easy to picture. But the majority of individuals were harder to imagine. Some were so hopelessly flawed and disfigured I didn't see how they could ever be made to come close to the exquisite beauty of a Vampire. "Eck!"

"What's wrong?" Renesmee asked me.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say anything out loud." I then went on to quickly explain to her what I had been doing.

"Why don't you try paying attention to the speakers instead? It's fascinating." She seemed excited and annoyed at the same time.

"This isn't exactly my kind of fun," I truthfully replied.

"I thought you stopped _your kind of fun_," she snapped, misreading what I was referring to.

"That's not what I…" the glare she gave me got me to shut up. I would explain later, once we were alone, when I had her undivided attention… and she had calmed down. One thing I had learned over the decades living with my aunt was that there was no point arguing with a woman when she was angry. Nothing I said was going to change her mind at the moment. And I would just push myself further away from her.

* * *

Renesmee had insisted. That was the only reason I was here. After the disastrous lecture, and I had explained that I was just bored, she thought that if we were going to have any chance at being together I needed to better understand her world and apparently that included attending university with her. Not full time, I wasn't enrolling or anything; I was just accompanying her for the day. She probably thought I would fall in love with the place as much as she had and would want to come with her from now on. But everything I saw just made me want to turn and head for the hills. Or the forest, in my case. But I couldn't even do that. The Cullens were against running anywhere in public and her dog had driven us. It was just the one class, and Renesmee assured me it would be over in an hour and a half, then we could leave straight after.

As we walked from the parking lot to the building I smelled something familiar. Just a faint whiff. But it couldn't be her. Not here. It must have been someone's perfume, or shampoo, or something that gave off the same fragrance.

Taking my hand in hers, Renesmee asked me with her gift, _Are you alright?_ It was so strange. I could feel along with the words that there was more to her question. She was also asking me if I was having a problem being around so many human's blood and if I was going to have a problem being here.

I reassured her that I was fine, but then a second later I smelt it again. Again it was very faint. If I hadn't been concentrating I would have missed it.

I still wasn't sure if it was her or not. The hallway was filled with too many scents from the hundreds of students and their professors.

Renesmee led me into her classroom, but instead of the scent getting stronger like I had hoped, it completely disappeared. If it was her, she had not come in here. There was only one window in the room. She might be nearby… watching, waiting. I peered through it for the remainder of the class while tasting the air as each new student arrived, hoping she had touched one of them, depositing her scent, and confirming she was here. Renesmee would probably me mad that I hadn't paid attention to what she was studying but this was important. Deadly important.

When the class was over, and I never saw or smelt any other signs of her, I relaxed. My original assumption must have been correct. It was just a coincidence, a combination of several students' fragrances that mimicked hers. If she had really been here she would have found me.

* * *

A.N. longest chapter... so far. It was a big one for Nahuel. He and Nessie are dating. What do you think? If you read _Sunrise_ or _Orbiting Satellites - Book 2_ you know how upsetting this is to Jake. But what do you think, seeing everything from Nahuels point of view? Is anyone starting to like him a little bit?

I know not a huge amount of people are reading this, and no one has commented yet, but I've decided that i'm not posting another chapter until I get at least** two reviews. **

Please, Please, Please

Also the next chapter covers Nahuel and Nessie's first Valentine's Day together (and it wasn't covered in the other versions so it's your only chance to read what happened.)


	17. Why Won't She Kiss Me?

**The Jaguar Versus the Wolf**

**Chapter 17 – ****Why Won't She Kiss Me?**

**Orbiting Satellites Book Two, Chapter 17 - ****A Dream and a Wedding**** companion**

* * *

Renesmee and I had been dating for four months (if I included the month she was not speaking to me) and we still hadn't kissed. I'd promised her, and her ultra conservative father, that I would follow her lead. And I had. And it was killing me. And I felt like I was going to explode.

We were currently on another one of our dates – a trip to the Botanical Garden, conveniently located right here in Hanover, New Hampshire.

I was looking at a lovely little purple flower, while she seemed mesmerized by a yellow one. The flowers we were looking at were native to the area, so I knew nothing about them. If we had gone somewhere tropical, closer to the rainforest I would have been able to at least know the name of the thing. Not the scientific name like what was written on the plaques here that also listed its common name and a little info about each flower. But I knew other things, like which flowers made the best dyes to stain cloth and hides, which lasted the longest when picked, and which kept their color and shape the nicest when dried.

We'd been told, when we first arrived not to pick any of the flowers, but I saw one lying on the ground. It looked fresh, no signs of wilting or damage. It must have recently fallen.

Going over to Renesmee I brushed her hair back behind her left ear and gently affixed the flower in her hair. "Lovely, just like I envisioned," I murmured to myself.

She seemed surprised, but then smiled shyly and released her hair on the right, cascading it down onto her face. I thought I'd upset her but then with more confidence she began to tell me all about the flower she'd been examining. She said it was called an _Iris Pseudacorus_. I'd been secretly watching her for awhile and new she hadn't even glanced at the plaque like I had. She went on and on, giving me tons of details about the flower as if she had known about it all her life. She probably did. She had read more, sooner, and at a younger age, than anyone I had ever known.

"You're amazing," I blurted out, before I realized what I was saying.

The arboretum was empty except for us and one other family, that had moved on to the next exhibit twelve minutes ago.

"Why would you say that?" She peaked up from her hair, seeming equally amazed that I would think so.

"Renesmee, I have never in all my years met someone as curios about the world as you. But as sheltered as you are, as protected, as coddled, as insulated, you still have defined yourself as an individual. You've never settled, you could have coasted through your life, but you aren't. Your love of learning, seeking out an unending source of new information is extraordinary. You are incredible, you astound me," I confessed.

I wasn't sure exactly what it was about what I said, surely nothing she hadn't heard before from others in her family, but her eyes grew wide. At first I worried that my words had embarrassed her, but she came up to me and did the last thing I expected. It was wonderful. She kissed me! Soft and gently, barely pressing her lips to mine, but it may have been the best kiss I ever got.

It took all the self control and restraint I had to not tear her clothes off and take her right there!

No, I couldn't, she was young, as Edward continually reminded me, and Rosalie's threat to rip off my appendages echoed in my mind. But that didn't mean I had to be complicit with the chaste kiss either. Taking it a little further didn't seem like it would earn me the loss of any limbs.

As she started to pull back I went with her, pressing my lips firmer into hers. When she didn't object my tongue sought out hers. It took only a minor effort to break open and past her lips. She squealed at the invasion but then it wasn't long before she got used to it and the _tonsil hockey_ (as I heard on a television program) began.

"Cough, cough," some grey haired janitor, or other servile employee, interrupted our fun a few minutes later with their rudeness.

If this had been Brazil and a stranger came up to me while I was enjoying a woman they would not have made it passed the first cough alive. Their neck would have been broken by a simple flick of my wrist and then I would have enjoyed not one meal, but two. But this was not Brazil, I wasn't _feeding_, and I was not the same man I had once been. He was lucky. "Can I help you?" I said instead.

"Zis iz a family plaze, ya needa do zat zomewhere elze young manz." He had an accent, and not one of the North American ones I was use to. It was hard to understand him, but the idea of this guy, whom I had a century on, calling me young, caught me by surprise and made me laugh. "Sorry, I guess us _kids_ got carried away," I chuckled, as I grabbed Renesmee's arm and began leading her toward the exit.

"Excusez nous s'il vous plaît," she called back as we went.

All the while the old man muttered to himself while raking the trail, "Ztupid kidz! Alwayz cauzing trouble. Firzt it waz zee trash litering zee ground, zen mezzing up zee dizplay mapz, an drawing on zee rockz, now I gotta worry bout zem maken out in zee middle of zee gardenz. Whaz next…" He was still going on and on after we left.

"Now what," Renesmee asked me as we made our way back to the car. I didn't think she was embarrassed that she'd been caught with my tongue down her throat and my hand up her shirt. No, judging by her sad expression I didn't think she was ready for our date to end. Neither was I.

"What would you say to us continuing to act like a couple of teenagers?" My mind went to less than innocent places of what we could do.

"I am a teenager… sort of," she admitted.

"Then there should be no objections," I said, risking her rejecting the idea. I should have just kept quiet and took her deep into the forest where we could be alone. Then wait for her to tell me when she wanted to stop. That would have been better for me, I'd get to have a little fun before she came to her senses and stopped us. You could imagine how surprised I was when she didn't object and we ended up not returning home until well after the sun had gone down.

What an amazing, perfect evening. Nothing could ruin tonight.

Nothing, except the dog.

There he was, camped out on the front porch, torturing that guitar of his again, while waiting up for Renesmee.

"Jacob, wow, that what beautiful," she told him as I walked her to the door. What was she doing? I had just spent the day getting close to her, and the night getting even closer, so why was she now looking at him like that? She couldn't be developing feelings for her dog, could she? Now she's smiling at him! What the hell?

"Glad you like it," he smiled back at her. "So the date's over?"

"Um, yeah," she answered him, then turned to me. "Thank you for taking me out, Nahuel. I'm kind of tired. I think I'll go to bed, see you tomorrow."

Guess I wasn't getting an end of the night kiss. I wouldn't have cared, pushing past the stupid dog that was blocking the door would have been easy enough, but if I did manage to get my kiss I knew my mind would have gone in less than innocent directions and Edward would hear and sick Rosalie on me. That's alright; I had gotten enough of a taste of Renesmee for one night. There was always tomorrow.

* * *

Valentine's Day was coming up. I had the whole thing planned. Just the two of us; no family, no friends, and especially no dog. It would be nice to have one evening where I didn't have to see the dog pathetically try to get Renesmee's attention by removing his clothing again. It seemed he was developing feelings for her, past just being her protector. And her… sure she had one off night where she seemed slightly amused by his bare chest, but in the weeks that followed he had tried over and over to get her to react that way again, but I never saw her give him a second look. She'd pleasantly talk to him, she had to, he was her bodyguard, but that was it and my worry faded.

Everything seemed to be going well between us until I brought up my ideas for Valentine's Day and Renesmee informed me that she already had plans… with the dog.

"Maybe I can call them and ask if you can come too?" she offered. "It's going to be a small wedding, and I don't really know the bride, only meeting her once, and I've never met the groom…"

"So why were you invited to their wedding if you don't know them?" Flying all the way to Washington for a stranger made no sense.

"All of the wolves were invited," she said as if that was an explanation. "And their imprints."

"What's an imprint?"

"What do you mean?" She seemed shocked that I had no idea what she was talking about. "You don't know about imprinting?" I shook my head. "All of the wolves, well most of them, there are only a few who haven't imprinted yet, but they will, it's only a matter of time…"

"You're losing me," I interjected, trying to get her back on point.

"Right, sorry. Each wolf, when they find a certain person, they are instantly connected to them. It's involuntary. They don't get to pick who it is, and they don't get a choice in the matter. But they become whatever their imprint needs them to be… friend, companion, protector-"

"Jacob imprinted on you," I blurted out as the realization dawned on me.

"Yes, when I was born. All it took was one look and his life became tied to mine."

Huh, all this time I'd thought Rosalie was using some sort of gift of hers to make him watch over Renesmee for her, when in fact she had nothing to do with it.

"So what does this have to do with the wedding you were invited to? Is the bride or groom a wolf as well?"

"No, neither of them's a wolf. But the bride, Colleen, was imprinted on by one, Embry. He's in Jake's pack."

"Did I hear my name," the dog said as he entered the kitchen, finally showing up for lunch. Renesmee refused to start eating until he got here.

"I was just telling Nahuel about Colleen and Henry's wedding," she told him.

"Oh, yeah," he smirked happily.

"I know it stinks that I'm missing our first Valentine's Day together, but I tell you what…" she paused to give me a quick kiss, "I'll more than make it up to you when I get back." Her lustful smirk I liked. What I assumed she was alluding to I liked even more. And the dog, spilling his drink all over himself when he shattered the mug he was holding was an added bonus.

"In that case I'll have to plan something very special for when you return."

I made Bella and Edward promise me that they'd keep it a surprise, and not tell Renesmee what I had planned when they picked her up from the airport, after the wedding. Edward didn't seem to like my idea. Not only did he try to dissuade me, claiming that she would probably be too tired to celebrate as soon as she got back, but he didn't seem to like any part of my plan. When I returned to New Hampshire this year he had given me his word that he wouldn't interfere when Renesmee decided she was ready to become my mate, in the physical sense of the word, but now he seemed to be doing everything he could to delay things. He was very persistent, but so was I and only conceded in one area, moving our evening to the Cullens house. The rest I refused to budge on, much to his dismay.

I knew Renesmee hated most human foods. She would probably be stuck eating airline food, which is among the worst of the human food options, so I planned a special dinner for the two of us. Not wanting to disappoint her, and not being the best cook myself, the menu was heavy on raw and marinated vegetable dishes. But to make up for my lack of cooking skills I attempted to arrange the dishes in an appealing manner, and then took the extra step of placing some of the flowers from my homeland, that I had been growing in the greenhouse, around the room. When everything was set and I surveyed the dining room it still seemed lacking. Edward and Bella had left over an hour ago, which meant I still had time to set the mood. Digging around I found just about every candle in the house. The soft flicker of light set the perfect mood… romantic; perfect for a seduction. Tonight Renesmee would finally be mine.

"You could have warned me," the dog grumbled under this breath to Edward when they arrived back home. It seemed he kept his word and didn't tell Renesmee about my plans for tonight. I would have to thank him later, but he and Bella disappeared up the stairs soon after entering the house. That was two things I'd have to thank them for.

Normally I tried to ignore the dog as much as possible but when he hugged Renesmee and said something so low I had trouble hearing, I intentionally strained my ears to listen. Still I only heard the last part, and wasn't even sure I heard correctly, "… anything you don't want..." he said and then he ran out the back door.

I was glad he left, but it seemed like Renesmee almost wanted him to stay when she yelled to him, "But aren't you hungry?"

Good riddance was my opinion.

One down. I wished we could be completely alone, but we really weren't. Not with her parents upstairs.

As we ate, I saw her eyes drooping and I reconsidered my earlier plans. Seeing how tired Renesmee was, and as much as I hated to admit it, her father was right. Tonight would just be an innocent dinner.

There was time.

Having her fall asleep halfway through was not part of my plan. When she did become my mate I wanted her awake, I wanted her to enjoy it, I wanted to show her how skilled I was.

* * *

Thanks to hbyrd28 and "Guest" who reviewed the last chapter. Glad you love/hate Nahuel as much as I do.

Hope everyone enjoys Chapter 17 as much as i enjoyed writing it. I would love some more reviews. Are you relieved or disappointed in the Valentine's Day dinner date outcome?


	18. Freedom on the Horizon

**The Jaguar Versus the Wolf**

**Chapter 18 - ****Freedom on the Horizon**

**Orbiting Satellites Book Two, Chapter 18 - ****Talks with Bella and Jacob**** companion**

* * *

"Hey, there's a car dealership a couple of towns over that's unveiling the new corvette models. I was thinking we could go. It starts at four. What do you say?" Renesmee asked me out of the blue.

While she loved all things automobile related, the only part of them I enjoyed was the ability of getting from place to place, and only because the Cullens didn't want me running around their territory and possibly exposing myself, and them in the process, to the humans. Also I had something else in mind that would be much more entertaining.

"Instead of that, how about something a little more physical?" I said right before I pounced off of my perch on the couch, as agile as my namesake would have done, only with a much softer landing, onto my soon to be mate. Once I had met my goal I plastered her in kisses. They were small and chaste, covering her face and neck. She was giggling, bolstering my confidence so every once in a while I would deepen the kiss. Perhaps today would be the day we would go further.

No dice. Lately, she had been putting the brakes on my attempts, and did it again now. Stopping me when my hands started moving to spots she didn't approve of. That was as far as things went tonight.

A few weeks later Renesmee and I were having another one of our dates, lounging on Carlisle and Esme's couch, in front of the television, watching some old movie. I wasn't sure when it was made, but the fact that it was all in grayscale apparently meant that it had been made over fifty years ago, at least. Esme said it was a _Film Noir_ when she'd suggested it. She said it was one of her and Carlisle's favorites. "Very romantic," she had put it.

Wow was she wrong. Watching this was painful. But the couch was comfortable. Maybe it could get put to better use.

Renesmee and I were already snuggled up to each other so all I had to do was turn my head a little to the left and our lips met.

Much better.

Moving her long, silky hair out of the way my mouth traveled from hers, down her neck, and back up again. While this was better than a stupid movie, after twenty minutes (and months and months of nothing but making out) I was ready to take things further. I had promised Edward I wouldn't push her into anything she didn't want to do, but we were running out of time; she had to be ready for more by now. My hands started traveling over her body and to my delight she didn't stop me for once.

This was great! I should have kept pushing and tried more with her last time. She was clearly into it. Her body was amazing; soft where it was supposed to be, and tight where it needed to be. My hand slipped under the hem of her skirt next. She moaned, in enjoyment, but as my hand traveled further up her leg Renesmee broke the kiss and backed away a few inches.

"We should stop," she gulped, "Jacob will be here soon." Her excuse was pathetic. She had already told me that he would be coming over after the movie, but that wouldn't be for another twenty-three minutes. All the things we could do in that time started stacking up in my head. But it also annoyed me. Those two were too close. How was she going to handle life without him once she finally became my mate and it was made clear that he was no longer welcome?

But that was a problem for another day. Right now we were running out of time to procreate and our physical progress was going excruciatingly slow. It was June; she would turn six in a few months. Maybe if I made my feelings more clear to her… "You know there are no other female hybrids," at least not ones that I'm not related to. "You're it for me; and me for you. We're destined to be together."

"Is that supposed to convince me to sleep with you?" The scowl she threw me was not what I was hoping for.

"No, I'm just trying to tell you how I feel. You're my one and only," I shrugged. I don't think I convinced her. She didn't leave, but we didn't start kissing again. Instead she turned her head back to the television and we sat in silence until the movie was over.

* * *

"You're going to another antique car show?" I asked Renesmee in disbelief.

"It's only a two hour drive. We're going to leave here around six, stop for breakfast, then go look at all the cars. We should be back before dark."

"We?"

"Jake and I. And you too if I can convince you to come." She looked so optimistic, but the idea of looking at old cars for hours on end was as unappealing to me as the unveiling of some new car model she had dragged me to the week before.

There was no use in denying it - I was _not_ in love with Renesmee Cullen. Sure I thought she was intelligent, thoughtful, caring… all that stuff. But I assumed that by now I would have felt more. If something happened and if the two of us did not end up as mates, even after all these years of courting and months of dating her then I knew I would be fine, able to move on to someone else; if another hybrid came along… years… decades… or centuries from now, that is. I would NOT end up lost to some eternal gloom like my sister Serena, or that pathetic Volturi ruler, Marcus. Yet I still held out hope. Perhaps it would happen once we mated, or she bore my child, or...

"Well," she asked. Oh right, she was still waiting for my answer.

"Cars really aren't that interesting to me, that's you. I'm more of a jungle guy, you know that. Running, climbing trees, swinging from vines. Instead of your car thing let's do something we both like."

"Like what?"

Good question. We hadn't found too many things we both enjoyed doing together. Sure we did things, just the two of us, all the time… we watched movies and television shows, played music together, and chess, and other board games, ate meals (sort of), and went for runs, among other things. But our viewing choices varied, I've yet to beat her at chess or even checkers, she barely tolerated human food, and when we ran I could always see her itching to go after a deer or mountain lion she'd smell.

There was one thing we both enjoyed … music. But it was out fallback date idea, and I didn't think it was possible, but we had played for and to each other so much at this point that both of us were starting to get sick of it.

"Ummmm… oh!" Finally an idea occurred to me. She seemed to like the gifts my Aunt and I had made for her when she was younger. "Have you ever tried weaving?"

"Like a tapestry?" She looked confused instead of the excitement I was hoping for.

"Nothing so big, but I'm sure the process could be scaled up. I was thinking more like a bracelet. I could teach you how to do it; then we would just need to carve some beads… that's harder to learn, but…"

"Jake already taught me how to carve," she said pointing to a statue lying on the table next to us.

"You made this?" It was amazing. I'd seen it before, many times and assumed Esme or Alice had bought it from a master sculptor at some point in the last hundred years.

"Jake helped," she admitted. "He taught me when I was…"

"I can teach you things too," I didn't want to hear about him. Her guard dog was just too close to her for my liking.

"Alright," she finally said, to my delight. Looks like I wouldn't have to go to a stupid car show. "But we can make jewelry anytime." I didn't like where this was headed. "The car show is a one day only event. How about we all go to the car show together tomorrow and then on Tuesday you can show me how to make a bracelet." Bosta!

"Renesmee, cars…" I winced at the idea, knowing I was stuck. And it was just dawning on me that I would have to spend hours cooped up in a car driving there and back with her dog. I needed to get out of this somehow. I know, "You and Jacob go without me. It's going to take me at least a day to prepare the supplies to weave anyway. I'll have everything ready when you get back, that way we can start on your bracelet the next morning."

"You don't want to come with me?"

"Renesmee, I've told you before, we're destined to be together. Even if I'm not physically with you every minute you'll always be in my heart, and mind, no matter what."

She looked disappointed, sort of, but agreed. She was probably excited to learn something new. And I liked the idea that I could actually teach little miss know-it-all something.

* * *

"Nahuel, I need to have a word with you."

I nodded and Edward came into my room, sitting down in the only chair while I remained in bed. Glancing at the clock on my nightstand I saw that it was barely six-thirty in the morning. Clearly whatever he wanted to talk about was important.

"I'm sorry about the early hour; Nessie just left for the automobile expo, and I didn't want her to overhear this conversation."

I had a feeling she was going to be this morning's topic. I'd been waiting for this. I heard that he and Bella were planning on leaving for a trip, needing a little alone time on Esme's private island. Naturally he would be concerned about his daughter's safety while he was gone.

"I promise, Renesmee with come to no harm while you are away." I mean really, she had me to watch out for her, not to mention six other Full-Vampires (and then there was her guard dog; he barely left her side, no matter how much I wanted him to). She would be fine.

"I'm glad you said that, because it is you that I am worried about. I am aware of what has been going on during your dates." Oh! I thought I had guarded my thoughts pretty closely, not thinking about my attempts to progress my physical relationship with Renesmee in his presence. I guess she hadn't. "The only thing that's saved you is that you stopped when she told you to," he growled. "I thought that I had made myself clear that you were not to push her."

"Maybe she needs a little pushing!" I growled back. "You've sheltered Renesmee her entire life, she doesn't even know what she's missing out on."

"She's not as sheltered as you seem to think, and she knows everything she needs to. You on the other hand could use a few lessons on manners and respect."

Bosta! "Is this your way of letting me know I should start packing? Are the others waiting behind the door, ready to drag me to the airport again?"

"As much as I would like that, your disappearance this time would upset my daughter. So instead I am going to give you a choice:

"One – you can tell her that it is not going to work out between the two of you and leave of your own accord, and never return.

"Two – call off any future attempts to progress your relationship and revert to just friends.

"Three – continue your current relationship, with one exception. Return to our previous agreement and wait for her to make the first move. Immediately stop trying to push her into taking things further than she is ready for."

"But her reproductive deadline…" Edward leapt up, knocking over my chair in the process, and started growling. Oops. "I know, I know. She's more than just a womb," I said, throwing up my hands in defeat. _She's just so wonderful; she deserves to have a child. _

While I hadn't said that last part out loud I know he heard me because he stopped growling. It seemed I wasn't about to die. I had convinced him.

"You're not in love with her. You can't fool me." Or not.

"We're still getting to know each other. Not everyone falls instantly in love with someone. Do you think the millions of couples who had arranged marriages over the centuries, that none of them ever grew to love the other person? Sometimes love takes time, but does that make it any less true?" I knew I had him with that one.

"And if you mate, and produce a child, what will you do if you still haven't fallen in love with her?"

I gulped, but answered honestly, "We'll love the child."

He growled. I shrugged.

"Rosalie, and the others, will be watching you while Bella and I are away." he snarled, "so I suggest you remember not to take things further, until Nessie is ready."

"Fine," I agreed. I could see there was no way I was going to win this argument.

* * *

Edward and Bella left on their trip a few days later. I waited three entire hours, assuring myself that the mind reader's plane was in the air, before I started making plans that were in direct opposition to Edward's wishes regarding his daughter. There was just sixteen months left until Renesmee stopped aging, stopped growing, stopped being able to carry and give birth to my child. I couldn't wait like Edward wanted. I had to act soon.


	19. You Want Me to Share?

**The Jaguar Versus the Wolf**

**Chapter 19 – You Want Me to Share?**

**Orbiting Satellites Book Two, Chapter 19 - ****A Very Long Night ****companion**

* * *

It had been two months since Edward and Bella left and I was no closer to achieving my goal than I was when they were here. Each time I tried moving forward with Renesmee I was shot down.

This was ridiculous. Fourteen months! That was all that was left. I wasn't sure what the gestation period for a hybrid would be, our births only took a month, but in the unlikelihood that Renesmee was pregnant for a normal human's gestational period that didn't leave much time. Human babies developed slowly, only being born at the end of the ninth or beginning of the tenth month. That left less than six months to impregnate her. Maybe I would get lucky and it would happen on the first try. But I knew the olds, some couples tried for months, even years, before they were successful.

That was it! Tonight I was not holding back. No more delays, no matter what. I would make her mine!

First I would set the mood. My original idea to go see a movie now seemed simplistic and boring. I needed something better. Their needed to be an extra bit of romance if I had any hope of being successful and not having to force her. My overall plan was simple – Charm and romance Renesmee; make myself so appealing that there was no way she could any longer deny me. But the details… that would be what clinched things.

"Have fun at the movies, Nessie," the dog said to her four hours later. "I'll see you in a couple of hours."

"Actually, there's been a change of plans." It wasn't easy, but I managed to get everything set up with six minutes to spare. "I have something more special planned for tonight. It'll be late when we get home. If that's alright with you?"

"Where are we going?"

"Just for a walk, then dinner under the stars," I smiled as I took her hand in mine and I looked deeply into her eyes. There was more to my plans than that, but I didn't want to give too much away. Mystery was part of my plan as well.

"When will you be back," the dog snarled.

"When we're ready," I growled back, momentarily breaking my gaze with Renesmee to glare at him.

It was time to go. Not wanting to get into a fight with the dog, and ruin the mood before the night even began, I tried to whisk her out the door as fast as possible. Before we made it out the dog called to Renesmee that he would be waiting up for her, when she got back.

I drove Bella's car seventeen miles to the edge of a hiking trail. It was lined with wild flowers and ended at the edge of a strawberry patch. She seemed to enjoy the walk, but when she saw the berries her eyes lit up. I'd come here earlier and left a picnic blanket and basket filled with wine, cheese, chocolate, and a special thermos filled with blood I collected myself.

Like I suspected I got to eat all of the wine, cheese, and chocolate, while she snacked on strawberries and guzzled the blood down. Cougar was her favorite after all.

"Thanks," she chuckled, when she was done. "I haven't had blood from a container since I was a baby." Apparently that was funny to her.

Cleaning up the food and laying back on the blanket I began naming some constellations my Aunt and I had made up over the decades. Then she taught me their _real_ names, that in reality someone else had made up many more centuries before me. Eventually we began making out under them. But that was all we did. I needed tonight to be perfect, and so far my plan was going exactly as I had intended. I didn't want to ruin things now.

"Thank you Nahuel, I had a lovely night," Renesmee said as we walked back through her front door.

Sorry, not getting rid of me that easily. Not tonight. "It's still early; we don't have to end it so soon, do we?" Oaky it was after eleven and not exactly early, but if she noticed she didn't say anything.

"No, I suppose not."

"Would you... show me your room?"

_Of course_, she said to me with her gift. I know when she was younger she spoke through her gift all the time, but didn't seem to as much as she grew. Hearing her thoughts in my head now was strange. But a few seconds later I understood why she had done it. She hadn't wanted the dog to hear. I thought I heard a ruckus as I closed the door and suspected he would come barging in any second but nothing happened. He must have left. Good.

Taking a fraction of a second to glance around, I saw that her room was decorated, not in a way that I thought Renesmee's taste would have been at all. The walls were painted a muted yellowish color that I could see being her, and the furniture was a combination of ivory and natural wood tones, but the accessories were all green. I thought there would be more lace and ruffles; I didn't see either, not anywhere. And nothing was pink or purple. I know they were typical girl colors, and not all females were drawn to them, but I could have sworn Renesmee mentioned once that her favorite color was purple. I expected to see it somewhere in her bedroom. What she did have was an overabundance of pictures of wolves. There was a photo collage of them on the walls and figurines littered all of the table and bookcase surfaces.

The only thing I could conclude was that someone else had decorated her room and Renesmee was too kind to object. Her kindness made me want her even more.

Time to put phase two of my plan into action.

In one swoop I wrapped my arms around her, began moving us towards her bed, and started kissing her. Yum! She tasted amazing! But her scent was off. Strange that I hadn't noticed it before.

Was it adrenaline I smelled?

No.

Fear?

No.

I couldn't figure out what it was until I realized the odor wasn't coming from her, but the room.

"Jacob's been in your room recently. His scent is still here." Had he been guarding her while she slept again? That didn't seem appropriate and I planned on putting a stop to it first thing tomorrow morning. Right now I had more important things to do as I continued kissing her and moved us towards her bed. Just as I was about to lay her down I froze. Her bed stunk of dog. "Why is Jacob's scent strongest here?"

"That's where he sleeps," she told me as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. I felt sick. While I had never thrown up, I'd seen plenty of humans do it, and now, for the first time ever I had a feeling I might.

After the nausea dissipated I was left with rage. She had refused to mate with me for months but let the dog violate her? Nightly?

Disgusting!

Jumping off of her and backing up a few steps I managed to grit threw my teeth enough to ask Renesmee a single question, "How long have you two been _sleeping_ together?"

She seemed shocked at my attitude but answered my question anyway. "When I was younger, soon after the Volturi left I started having nightmares. My Jacob staying with me while I slept was the only thing that kept them away." _Her_ Jacob? I had never heard her refer to him as that before. At least I think I hadn't, I never really paid attention when she brought him up. Now I realized I should have paid closer attention. MUCH closer attention. "My parents put a stop to it when I got older. They said it was no longer appropriate." No kidding. "I hated being without him and finally had enough one night. Did you know that wolves had to give their imprints whatever they need?" It must have been a rhetorical question because she never let me answer "no", she just continuing to talk. "It's true. One night I needed him more than ever and without a word he just showed up. I can show you the next morning when I took him with me to talk to my parents. Give me your hand," she said while she held out hers.

While my repulsion was high, so was my curiosity. I probably shouldn't have; if I was smart I would have left right then and there, but instead I walked back over to her bed, sat down, and placed my hand in hers.

In her vision she began showing me Edward and Bella sitting on the couch in their living room. I tried to pay attention to everything she showed me, but there was so much, and my attention kept wandering – wondering what different things meant.

* * *

"Nothing happened-" her dog tried saying as the two of them walked towards Renesmee's parents.

"We still need to talk to you, Jake," Bella told him.

"That's not true, Jacob and you know it," Renesmee argued. "Jacob, I needed you last night and you were there for me. You were there when and how I needed you, just like you have always been. You were perfect. Everything about last night was perfect." She was showing me the morning after she'd mated with the dog for the first time? Why?

Right now my repulsion was skyrocketing back up. It was almost as high as my anger. All these months she had refused me. I thought she was too young, too innocent, and here… the truth, the opposite had been true. That mutt had beaten me to my prize and she had mated with that beast.

Why, then had she continued to humor me; wasting my time with her ridiculous dates? Sightseeing, picnics, strolls through the forest. All I got was barely more than a few lousy kisses.

The next thing she showed me was her going up on her toes and placing a soft peck on the dog's cheek. Hmmm, her father didn't seem to like that. Maybe there was still hope. Surely Edward would want her to be with someone of her own kind.

While I was trying to think of ways I could get Edward on my side to get rid of the dog I missed the next part of what she was showing me. But what she said next snapped my attention back to the vision. "Mom, dad, I can't and won't continue to sleep without Jacob. He belongs with me. You know I love Jacob and I need him." She loves him?

"For now but things could change, you could change your mind."

"Don't you trust me?" she asked them.

"After what happened last summer I'm not sure if that's possible," her mother sighed, but gave no further explanation as to what she was talking about. I might have to ask Renesmee when she was done showing me this vision… if I stuck round.

"That was a mistake, I know, but not for the reasons you think. I know you thought I was too young then. But I'm older and wiser now. Just look at me. I'm physically seventeen years old. I look like I'm the same age as you, dad. And I'm 5'7", mom that's three inches taller than you are. You've let me take college classes online and next year I'll be going to school with you."

"Looks can be deceiving."

"Yes, they can," she agreed. "Mentally I have been as smart as an adult since my first birthday."

"Book smart yes, but life experiences wise, I think not," her father countered.

She then went on to show me something about Esme, which I missed. I was too upset to concentrate.

"Dad, I'm sleeping with Jacob and that's final!" she'd yelled. That got my attention back.

"Really? And what about what Jake wants?"

"Jacob imprinted on me. He feels the same as I do." Is that what imprinting meant? It didn't just make him her protector?

"Things could change. _You_ could change your mind in the future," her father replied.

"It just seemed like you assumed we'll end up together." So this was normal? Expected? "Don't you think I would follow the same path most other imprints did with their wolves."

"Of course sweetheart, but it's your choice, we just want to protect you," her mother replied.

"Protect me? Jacob protects me. He would never do anything that wasn't what was best for me. Which is why we should be allowed to sleep together. You know that's how imprinting works. He wants what I want and need, right?"

"Theoretically. But I'm still concerned about what happened last summer." Argh, another mention of last summer. What the hell happened?

"I know. But you see there is nothing for you to be concerned about, now. And I would hope that you would be happy for me."

Her parents seemed to give up after that. Bella nodded to Edward and that was it.

"Come on my Jacob. Let's go get the other set of furniture out of the attic," she smiled with glee as the two of them dashed up the stairs.

* * *

At last Renesmee's vision of the past ended.

"So…" she said, taking her hand away from mine, "do you want to…"

"What is imprinting?" I cut her off. "I thought it meant he was your protector." That's what she had told me before, but clearly she had lied.

"That's part of it," she said before explaining to me the whole meaning – he was not just her protector, but also her friend, companion, lover, and soulmate. No wonder they were always together. How was I to compete with that?

Once my confusion was cleared up my anger returned (not that it had completely left) and a new confusion took its place. "What the hell have you been doing with me all this time if you're already with him?"

"Jacob has no choice but to be in my life. If I want him as a lover in the future, or just a friend, I still haven't decided. But either way he's not going anywhere; he can't. When I was younger I assumed he would be my mate, but then you came along and let your intentions be known." So I still had a chance? "I tried deciding between the two of you last year," she continued, "but my father made me realize I would need to date you in order to make an informed decision."

"And you didn't think to tell me any of this earlier?" I knew more anger had seeped into my voice, but I didn't care.

"Would it have made any difference?" she asked. I was about to argue that it would have, but couldn't. She was right. Even now my resolve to leave was dwindling. If I left I would be alone, probably forever. If I stayed there was a chance she would pick me. Then I would find a way to get rid of the dog.

We ended up talking all night. I had a million questions. She answered all of them, including telling me all about the _summer incident_ she had alluded to in her vision.

Apparently when Renesmee looked around thirteen years old she tried mating with Jacob. Well I guess _tried_ was too strong a word. According to her, she barely got in more than a few quick pecks, and not even on his mouth, before he put a stop to everything. That was another thing I found out. Although the imprint made Jacob give Renesmee everything she _needed_, it didn't mean he had to give her everything she _wanted_ – not if he didn't want to. While it stopped him being with her back then, it hadn't now. But I couldn't blame him. Renesmee was incredibly beautiful. Who wouldn't want to be with her?

In the end she made it clear to me that she would be spending her existence with the dog. I could choose to try and be a part of that future or not. But it would either be the three of us or the two of them.

The idea of spending eternity with the dog was repulsive, but being alone, without Renesmee, was equally as unappealing.

"The sun is coming up," Renesmee yawned. We had been talking all night.

"I should go back to Esme and Carlisle's and get some sleep," I told her. I had a lot to think about. Just as I got up to leave, Renesmee went to reach for something and her arm collided with mine. The force somehow knocked over a plant on her nightstand and dirt ended up splaying all over my shirt.

Bosta! It was almost comical, the _perfect_ ending to my _perfect_ night. What else could go wrong?

"Sorry," she said, as she began picking up the broken vase.

"It's fine." Back in Brazil I never wore shirts and thought nothing of it as I ripped it off and tossed it in the trash.

"What are you doing?" Her eyes grew wide.

"Alice filled my closet with twenty just like it; I'll just grab another one when I get back there."

"You can't go back over to my grandparents house like that. Here take one of Jake's," she said as she dashed into their closet and tossed me a near identical one.

The only reason I accepted was because, knowing Alice as I had come to, I also knew that the dog had most likely had never worn it, so I pulled it on as I walked out her bedroom door.

Greeting me on the other side was none other than the dog, Emmett and Rosalie, and Jasper and Alice. Rosalie's earlier threat that she would rip my arms and legs off if I touched her niece literally rang in my ears as she started screaming at me. Fortunately Emmett and Jasper managed to grab her as she lunged for me, and dragged her out the door, quickly followed by Alice. That only left the dog. He was glaring at me, but hadn't made a move. Was he going to attack?

The fact that the others had left without taking him with them made me think he wouldn't.

He was still just standing there, staring at me. It seemed I was going to have to make the first move. If I was going to have any chance with Renesmee (if I chose to, I was still thinking that one over) I was apparently going to have to start playing nice with her dog.

"May I have a word with you?" I asked as I walked over to the living room couch and sat down. He followed me, but remained standing. Where to begin? Maybe with something easy? "Jacob, I feel like I should apologize to you. I've taken what was yours without your permission."

"S'okay, not really mine," he replied, clearly not caring about the shirt either.

"But it was," technically, so the apology was appropriate. Now to the hard part. "And you must be angry with me for borrowing your... um, bed last night," I said chickening out.

"No, I'm not... upset," he said, barely. I could tell he wanted to attack me, yet wasn't for some reason. "All I care about is Nessie's happiness. As long as she is happy... and _SAFE_, then what I want doesn't really matter."

"Ah, yes she explained that about the imprinting." I finally got comfortable enough, realizing that he was not going to try and attack me, to take my eyes off of him and look back to Renesmee's bedroom door. "I hadn't initially realized that it extended beyond you merely being her protector."

"Yeah, I'm whatever Nessie wants me to be. I love her." His anger disappeared and was replaced, not by happiness at his declaration, but sadness.

Argh, it was almost as bad hearing him say it as it had been her doing so. "Yes, well, we seem to be in a complicated situation," I continued, turning back around to face him. "In any event, I'm sorry. I believe there are many things that we need to discuss."

"You seem to make her... _happy_. And like I said, as long as Nessie is happy, then I'm happy." He still didn't seem happy, no matter how many times he said it.

"That may be good enough for you, but I'm not sure if I can handle a relationship between the three of us!" I had no desire to share a woman… a mate. Especially with a dog.

"Well that's really up to Nessie isn't it? If she wants to spend eternity with both of us or not," he growled. Maybe I had let my guard down too quickly.

"Perhaps, but I believe I have a say in my life as well," I countered. Going without sleep was starting to get to me. I wanted to talk to about this more, but it would have to wait. "I've had a long night, and I'm not sure about you, but I didn't get any sleep, perhaps we should continue this conversation at a later time?" I couldn't believe the next words that came out of my mouth. I blame my sleep deprivation. "I assume you will want to reclaim your normal spot, next to Renesmee. I shall retire to my own room." I wanted to scream, yell, vomit, tear my eyeballs out, rip his arms off, or a hundred other things. But I did none of those things. Instead without saying another word, or waiting for his reply I turned and took off for Carlisle and Esme's house. I needed to think. But first I needed to sleep.

That night, correction, that morning, my dreams were troubled. No, troubled would be an improvement. They were terrifying.

At first everything started out fine. I dreamed I was back in the Rainforest in Brazil. Renesmee had become my mate and we were making love. It was everything I thought it would be. Her body was amazing. Then the dream took a turn. There were too many arms and legs for just the two of us. It wasn't until a hairy paw stroked my thigh that I realized the dog was with us.

That jerked me awake in a cold sweat. I tried going back to sleep several times, but each time I did, I returned to the same dream… or worse.

I think I had my answer. As much as I didn't want to admit it, it was not going to work out between Renesmee and me, not if that hairy mutt was a required addition.

After I made my decision I quickly dressed and was about to rush over to Renesmee's when I was met by Carlisle and Esme. They were concerned when I had not returned last night, but I convinced them that everything was fine.

"Glad to hear it," Carlisle said and I thought that would be the end and I could go, but then Esme asked me if I had seen Rosalie and Emmett?

Argh! It was great that the Cullens were so concerned about each other but I really needed to go. Part of me was sad that they wouldn't become my extended family one day. Quickly letting them know that I didn't have any idea where they went, I was about to leave when I heard Esme call Alice; apparently she and Jasper were out shopping, but didn't stick around long enough to see if she found the others. I had to go talk to Renesmee at her house to let her know my decision. It was only fair. Then I would come back, pack and leave her… forever.

Bosta! It seemed my plan would have to wait a minute or two; I needed to get past the dog first.

"Good afternoon. Would you like something to eat? I made us all lunch," he smiled at me from their kitchen. What happened to the depressed and growling guard dog I talked to this morning? What was he up to?

I was about to say "No_"_, but I had told him I wanted to talk to him more today… and I was hungry. I guess I could put off talking to Renesmee for a few minutes. "Um, sure. Thank you, Jacob. Is now a good time to talk?" It only seemed right to let him know I was leaving as well.

"Sure, sure. Would you like to go somewhere more private?"

I told him that there was no need. We were already alone, and the food was here.

"Okay. Um, so… how did you sleep?" Why did he care?

"Well enough. But I would have preferred to have traded places with you," I admitted. If he was out here Renesmee must be around somewhere, but I didn't see her. "Where is Renesmee currently?"

"Well, um... she was still asleep, in my bed, when I got up."

"Your bed?" That was a strange phrase. "I thought you shared a bedroom?"

"We do. Technically you were in her room last night, but I have a room right next to hers. I've barely ever slept in it actually. It didn't seem right to stay in her room last night after the two of you... err... occupied it." This was getting worse and worse.

"Jacob, I'm very sorry about last night. If I had known... you and Renesmee... the imprinting... I didn't... If I had known... And then we... I'm sorry, I'm not usually this… so incoherent, it's just I didn't realize..."

"Yeah I gathered that. So what are you trying to say to me?"

"I just... I'm sorry about... I, we... last night... your bed... you didn't... and I took... Nessie never –"

"NAHUEL! Please stop!" he screamed at me. It seemed he didn't want to hear or accept my apology. "Whatever happened last night, whatever happens between the two of you in the future, as long as it's what Nessie wants, and she's happy, then I'm happy."

"Yes, she explained that part of imprinting to me," but it didn't change anything. "I'm sorry I didn't realize, before. I never would have..." This all was just a giant mistake. But I couldn't say that it had been a giant waste of time. I loved getting to know Renesmee. She was such a lovely person and will miss her, gravely. I wish I could have loved her but she wasn't mine. And never would be.

"Sure, sure. I'm sure our places will be reversed soon enough," the dog said under his breath. "So it looks like the three of us are going to be together for the foreseeable future. Why don't you tell me some of your favorite foods so I can make them for you later?"

"Jacob, I think you're getting ahead of yourself. I'm not the type of man who is capable of sharing a woman." Really, I just wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible.

"Can't you at least give it a try? Think of Nessie, having us all together is what would make her happy." Images from this morning's dream popped into my head and I had to force down the bile that found its way into my mouth. Just the thought – me and Renesmee… and him, together. Revolting! "And try to imagine what a life without her would be like, where she is the only person on the entire planet you were capable of being with in any real way. Wouldn't it be better to be with her, even if it wasn't exactly how you pictured it would be, than not have her at all?" He had me there.

"I admit I would not look forward to living a life without her." I didn't want to be alone. Now that Huilen had Roberto, I didn't even have my Aunt anymore. If I left now I knew I would completely alone. I can't believe I was doing this. "I'm willing to give it a try, when you put it that way."

"Thank you, you have no idea what this means to her... and me." Gross, he actually looked happy.

"So how exactly is _this_... going to work?"

"I think that would be up to Nessie, don't you?"

"Jacob, did you make lunch for everyone? That's so nice of you," Renesmee exclaimed entering the room. Then she went and kissed the dog. It was only on the cheek, but was the first time I had seen her do that, at least in front of me. I guess now that everything was out in the open they would not be concealing their relationship from me anymore.

"Here," the dog then said as casual as ever, handing Renesmee one of the salads he made. "Why don't I get out of your way, I can go eat somewhere else."

"Don't be ridiculous, my Jacob. We can all eat together, and I think it might be nice if you and Nahuel got to know each other better."

She then took her salad, grabbed some water for everyone, and sat down at the kitchen table. I didn't really want to but thought best to do the same. There was another salad and a sub to choose from. I choose the sub, figuring that imprints/soulmates would share a similar taste in food. The way Renesmee explained imprinting was that the dog loved the same things she did. Plus, I wouldn't want to eat a boring salad.

At least getting to the table before the dog meant that I was the one who got to sit next to Renesmee, but just as I did she got up and switched sides. I was really starting to hate imprinting.

Speaking of which, I needed a way to spend as little time with the dog as possible, I did NOT want my nightmare becoming prophecy. "Renesmee I was thinking, we should probably set up a schedule or something so that you won't…" How can I put this? "So that you won't be double booked."

"Oh!" she exclaimed, understanding what I meant." And said I could see her on Mondays, Wednesday, and Fridays, and the dog got Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

"That's fine for the evenings, but what about the rest of the time. The d… Jacob," I quickly amended, "will be with you when you're at school. Do I get you the rest of the time?" I asked, trying to cover my slip with a smirk.

"Jake and I will have homework and studying to do. But I guess it would only be fair if we hung out the rest of the time. Mostly," she added at the end. "I still need to hunt, and Jake and I are a good team."

"I can hunt too. I've done it all my life."

"Murdering woman doesn't count," the dog scowled.

I started growling at him, and he back at me, but Renesmee cut us both off. "Nahuel, Jake's not wrong. And you don't drink blood anymore."

"Neither does the dog!" I shouted. "I mean… Jacob," I corrected after seeing the horrified/angry look she gave me.

I ended up having to apologize… to both of them, and after a little groveling, and promising that I would never say such (true) offensive terminology again, we continued working out a schedule.

"The remainder of the week I'd like it if we could all eat breakfast and dinner together." Renesmee suggested. "It seems that the two of you could use some get to know each other time. This isn't going to work if you two are constantly fighting.

"What about Saturdays? During the day I mean?"

"We can split Saturday mornings and afternoons. Jake in the morning and you in the afternoon. Then Jake gets me back at night," she smirked. "How's that?"

"Fine," I begrudgingly agreed.

"Sure, sure. And at night… who will you be sleeping with?" The dog looked worried.

"You, of course," she said to his relief and my disappointment.

Hopefully that was only a temporary sleeping arrangement. Though I doubted little sleeping would actually be going on, no matter who was in her bed.

* * *

"Where did you find this place?" Renesmee asked, a few nights later, as she looked over the menu. It took some verbal gymnastics but I finally managed to get her out of the house (and away from the dog). It was our date night but as usual I found her with him, and practically had to drag her away.

I didn't think there was anything on here that she would like, but she was the one who insisted on a _normal_ dinner date. I told her that Carlisle had suggested it. He'd heard some of his colleagues discuss it at the hospital and said they all mentioned how much they'd enjoyed the menu.

When the waiter came we both ordered. And when he returned with our salads... twenty-six long minutes later Renesmee forced hers down, even though it came with the house dressing she'd requested not be added. Another forty-two minutes and our steaks finally came. I liked mine but her rare steak was too well done for her to try more than a bite.

"Dessert?" I asked her. She just shook her head. "You must be hungry."

"Not really. I'm fine just with the blood I drink on Sunday's. I just wanted to come here with you more for the atmosphere; to see you out with other people around."

"So did I pass?" I questioned.

"I need to do more research." She was playing with me.

"How about we go for a walk?" I suggested as I paid the bill. Sure I used the Cullen family credit card, but I still felt like it was my job. I thought about not leaving a tip, due to the horrible service, but it wasn't my money I was spending and added 30% anyway.

"We do that all the time."

"Sure in the woods, but you said you wanted to observe me around humans… so let's go where the humans are," I said turning us left onto the boardwalk, instead of right towards Bella's car.

It was a warm summer day, so there were many pedestrians out and about. Most were shopping, others merely window shopping; there were couples out on dates like us, parents with their children, teenagers roaming the streets and causing harmless mischief. Whatever reaction Renesmee was expecting me to have I wasn't sure. It wasn't like I would see someone who looked yummy and decide to have a snack. And I made sure not to stare too long at any attractive young women. If she was looking for something to justify continuing not to sleep with me I wasn't going to provide it for her.

We walked and talked for the next hour and a half before she decided we should call it a night. When I dropped her off at their bedroom door her dog/mate was there to _greet_ us as usual.

"Are you okay?" she asked him, seeing the overboard look of concern in his eyes.

While he said that he just missed her, it was obviously a lie. Despite what he told me, the other morning, he clearly didn't like sharing her anymore than I did.

"Well I'm back and I'm all yours." Yuck! She sounded so happy. She'd been with me all night, but was she thinking of him? "Almost," she then added, holding up her index finger, before giving me my sole kiss for the night. And even that was cut short as she pulled away all too soon. While I didn't like kissing her in front of him I took what I could get, plus I got the added benefit of depositing my scent all over her before passing her back to the dog.

Enjoy your night mongrel.

* * *

**A.N. ** What do you think? I almost feel sorry for Nahuel... almost. And i don't know why but I love making Jake squirm.

Please review and tell me what you think. Thanks for reading.


	20. I'm Screwed

**The Jaguar Versus the Wolf**

**Chapter 20 - ****I'm Screwed**

**Orbiting Satellites Book Two, Chapter 20 - ****Jennifer ****companion**

* * *

After a fun breakfast with Nessie (and the dog) I was about to leave to go wander around the forest, or find some other way to occupy my time. I really didn't have any plans yet. It was _his_ day, according to the schedule Renesmee had come up with, which left me with nothing to do.

"Sorry boys," Alice's maniacal voice chimed as she happily skipped up to us. "I'm stealing my niece away for a fun-filled shopping trip today." Renesmee was still upset that Rosalie and Emmett were still among the missing. Since they'd left without a word almost a month ago Alice had been whisking her away every so often with a shopping excursion, as an attempt to cheer her up. I think it did more for Alice than Renesmee.

"What are we buying this time? You already bought me an entirely new wardrobe last time." The fact that she was sick of shopping said a lot.

"We're not shopping for you."

"Jake and Nahuel already have enough..."

"It's not for them either. Or Carlisle, or Esme, or Jasper either. Or Bella and Edward and Rose and Em for that matter." Why was she dragging this out? "It's actually someone I can't see," she said mysteriously. "We'll have to get a bunch of different options."

Renesmee began peppering her with questions about the mysterious guest – who were they, when would they be here, how long were they staying, whether they were a girl or a boy, where were they going to stay, and so on. None of which Alice was able to answer beyond the fact that they would be friendly and in no way a threat. By the way she was smiling it looked like she knew more than she was letting on.

After Renesmee begrudgingly said her goodbyes to us, the dog headed off to the garage. And I, with nothing else to do, my mind began wandering and I started thinking about who this mysterious guest could be. And then it all made sense. I needed to find the dog.

"Could I speak with you?" I asked, directing my question to his legs, the only part of him I could see since the rest was hidden by the car he was under. He huffed and slid out. Great, he already looked annoyed as he leaned against the car. "I thought we should talk about what's going to happen once Renesmee gives birth."

The tool he'd been holding clattered as it landed on the garage's concrete floor and he gasped. "She's pregnant?"

"No. Not yet. At least I don't think she is," I quickly amended. "She hasn't said anything to me, anyway." I assumed he would be one of the first to know when it did happen though. Of course if my assumption was right, about the blank spot in Alice's vision, Renesmee may be in the very early stages. And if I was wrong and she wasn't I doubted she will remain that way for long, not with him sharing her bed every night.

"Oh, O-kaay," he said drawing out the word. He confused me so much sometimes. Right now especially. He's acting like her child would not be the wonderful news that it should be.

I wanted to be the one to father a child with Renesmee, but I doubted that the odds were in my favor since our relationship hadn't progressed that far. She barely let me kiss her, after all. Perhaps this is why, so there would be no confusion over the parentage of her offspring.

"What is it you wanted to ask me exactly?" the dog finally said, while fiddling with some grease covered thing that was sitting on a nearby table instead of looking my way.

"I was just wondering about our living situation. I mean how it is going to work once there is a baby. I don't think things will be able to stay as they are now." A baby will need its own room and I wasn't sure where that would be or what my place in this would be in our pseudo-threesome once the two of them had a child. The dog once said that he had his own room next to Renesmee's, even though it was barely used. They could probably convert that into a nursery. Simple. I guess my real question was what was going to happen to me, when it did, but I was too worried I wouldn't like the answer to ask.

He seemed to think for a second, but then his imprinting drive to do anything to make Renesmee happy once again shocked and astounded me. "We'll have to talk to Nessie, but I'd be okay with the four of us," he was including me? "getting our own house somewhere nearby." He started going on and on about how Renesmee would want to stay close to her parents, and a bunch of other stuff, but I mostly stopped listening after that. The main point was that he seemed to think Renesmee would still want me in her life. The idea of the two of them raising their child together with me just shacked up nearby was unreal, especially when I heard the words "spare bedroom" escape his lips. That was strange to say the least. My imagination started running wild. Everything that it came up with was not exactly pleasant in my opinion. I think he was still talking when I just turned and left, I couldn't listen anymore.

"Yeah, that all sounds… swell," I mumbled as I headed out the door.

* * *

"So, it's been almost a year, how's it going between the two of you?"

When Edward suggested a cellular phone I was initially against it. I wasn't going to agree, but Jennifer had one and it made calls like this with her possible. While I didn't get to see her that often, it was nice to be able to talk to her every now and then. It mattered less to me that my other two sisters and father also possessed phones, but I rarely talked to them, if I could help it. I only ever used it when visiting Renesmee and her family, since I mostly kept to the jungle in Brazil and had nowhere to charge the thing there.

Jennifer had just moved passed the pleasantries, and was catching me up with how she and my other sisters were doing, and moved on to a subject I was hoping to avoid. "Are you and the Cullen girl madly in love?"

"Actually, to tell you the truth... It might not work out between the two of us."

"What? How can this be?"

"She's not... I'm not..." I wanted to talk to her, tell her the truth, but I just couldn't. It was embarrassing. I was losing to a dog. "We just want different things I guess."

"Oh," she said after a minute. "We'll you could always mate with a human woman. She could give you the child you so desperately crave." My sister knew me so well. Having a child of my own… it was the only thing that connected me to Joham, though I was not at intense as him. I wasn't intent on procreation, forsaking all else. I also wanted a mate.

"How could I? You know what I've done to all my conquests in the past. She never makes it through the night. Even if I didn't drain them, I'd still break enough bones in the process that..."

"Surely you've gained enough control, being with Renesmee all these months that you could control yourself..."

"We haven't..." I started to admit. Luckily I didn't need to say anything else. Jennifer knew me well enough, she would understand.

"But why?"

"That is a very long story. Too long for a phone call," I told her.

While I hadn't gone into further detail, Jennifer knew I had never kept anything from her before. She knew that if I couldn't tell her now, it was something big. "I'll be there in a day. Wait for my call and you can meet me at the airport," she informed me before hanging up the phone.

Alice's vision... my sister was coming. Renesmee wasn't pregnant. Probably. I wasn't sure how I felt. I should have kept my worries to myself. Still I was happy she was coming.

I picked her up at the airport, like she asked, and on the drive to the Cullens told her all about what was going on between me and Renesmee… and the dog.

We ended up getting into a heated discussion with my sister trying to convince me to leave Renesmee and return home with her. She didn't like the idea of me sharing Renesmee any more than I did.

After a lot of back and forth I sort of got my way. I wasn't leaving and neither was Jennifer… at least not right away. I hadn't convinced my sister, but at least got her to agree to meet Renesmee. Tonight might actually be the perfect opportunity. It was Bella and Edwards welcome home party. They'd finally returned from Isle Esme. If we just stopped in to make an appearance I could introduce them, in a somewhat civilized manner. Hopefully in a room full of Vampires my sister wouldn't say anything too embarrassing or inappropriate. And she might even get to know Renesmee. If she did I was sure Jennifer would like her. If they talked maybe Jennifer would see how amazing Renesmee was, and what a fool I would be to give up on possibly my only chance at happiness, my only chance to mate with someone from my own species, my only possibility to produce an offspring who was a hybrid like myself.

"Renesmee," I called to her as we walked into Carlisle and Esme's house. "Can you join me over here? I have someone I would like you to meet, please."

She began to come over, but I worried for a second that the dog wasn't going to let her. I shouldn't have. Due to the imprinting, she was the one in charge, and stopped him with only a look. He was still her protector though and came with her, most likely alert to the fact that another hybrid was in the room. Jennifer wasn't a threat, but he didn't know that.

"Renesmee and Jacob, may I introduce you to my sister, Jennifer."

"Renesmee, it's nice to meet you," she smiled, but stopped as soon as her eyes fell on the dog, "and Jacob." "Nahuel mentioned he had entered into a... _relationship_ with you. It seems quite unconventional." Like the smile she gave Renesmee her laugh was just as fake.

"Well it works for us," the dog lied. Or maybe he wasn't. The imprinting might make him happy with the way things were, as sick as that seemed.

"For NOW," I snarled.

"How can you-" Bosta! I knew Jennifer was going to try to say something. Even though I asked her not to, to wait and give Renesmee a chance, I knew she was about to launch into an interrogation. I couldn't have that.

"I should introduce you to the rest of the Cullens," I said as I grabbed my sister's arm and led her away before she could get the rest of her potentially damaging sentence out.

Carlisle and Esme were kind and as compassionate as expected; and Jasper, who I knew would sense my sister's innate goodness despite her negative feelings towards my relationship with his niece, did not let me down. And with her mates approval Alice was easily won over. I saved introducing her to Edward and Bella for last. With his mind reading ability I was worried he would be displeased that Jennifer wanted to ruin his daughter's plans.

"Jennifer, it's so nice to finally meet you," Edward said, extending his hand to her, before I even said a word. He didn't look upset, but I noticed that while he smiled at her he looked sad when he was looking in my direction. But only for a moment. The corners of his mouth quickly replaced his frown with a smile.

"Thank you, you have a beautiful home," Jennifer replied.

"This is actually Esme and Carlisle's place," Bella informed her. "We live right next door though. Why don't you come by tomorrow and we can give you a tour."

We continued with the small talk until the dog came over and interrupted us. "Hey Bells, Edward. Mind if I borrow Nahuel for a minute?"

"What do you want?" I probably would have said something nastier but Renesmee was with him and I didn't want to upset her.

"I thought we should talk," he said, "away from everyone. There's a spot in the woods near here that should be fine."

"You're not going to be gone long are you?" Renesmee asked, looking concerned. Honestly I was too, but for a different reason. He didn't like me. I knew that. I didn't like him either. But he was closer to Renesmee than I was. He had her ear. I knew if he wanted or tried to he could easily poison her against me. Things were already not going great between us. Ever since I brought up the question of living arrangements once Renesmee's had a child he's been giving me the deadliest looks. Could he have sweet talked her into getting rid of me? Or perhaps he passed my questions on to her, and now that she thought about it, realized how ludicrous it would be for the four of us to live together. Had she already made her decision and he had his orders; planning on coming back from the woods alone, with a story of some tragic accident I suffered to explain my disappearance to the others?

I knew I could take the dog if needed, but I also knew I would probably get injured in the process and didn't want to spend Jennifer's entire visit recovering.

"Not long. We'll be back before you know it," he told her. We? I looked at Edward for confirmation and he nodded.

As we walked, and walked, and walked, I started thinking Edward had been wrong. What if Rosalie and Emmett had come back and were out here waiting for us so the three of them could ambush me?

When he finally stopped in the middle of a clearing I realized I was right. This was a perfect place for a fight. It gave him the best advantage. It was more than 100 meters wide, void of any trees I could climb to get somewhere he couldn't reach me, or anything I could grab for a weapon.

"Have you changed your mind back there about things? Nessie? Or me? Do you want me gone?" he asked me when he turned around.

"Yes, I want you gone," I admitted. "But it's not like it would be that easy to get rid of you. As if I could just tell you to leave and you would."

"No, I would need to hear it from, Nessie."

"Well then, I guess the two of us are stuck with each other for a while longer."

"You won't regret it; Nessie is going to be so happy to have us both." Yuck! Why did he have to seem so happy about that?

I needed to get out of here. Not caring if the dog had more to say, I risked turning my back on him and ran back to the house.

The party seemed to be breaking up, Alice and Jasper had already returned to their place and Edward and Bella were saying their goodbyes to Carlisle and Esme, making the excuse that they needed to unpack and so forth.

My sister looked tired, so after saying goodnight I showed her Carlisle and Esme's other guestroom before retiring to my own.

Normally I loved that the house was always warm, from the heat being turned up to grow my plants, but not tonight. I was irritated, hot, and sweaty. Before going to bed Jennifer informed me, in some rather unpleasant words, that, although she was too tired to tonight, tomorrow, we would be having another long discussion about Renesmee… and my relationship with her. I needed some air, and threw open my window.

"There you are," I heard Renesmee's sweet voice chime.

"Hey, sweetheart. What's up?" Argh… the dog. Of course she was talking to him. That's why she sounded so happy. I tried using my pillow to cover my ears and drown him out, but it didn't work.

"Where were you and Nahuel just now?"

"I just had to talk to him in private, but we're good. Did you need me?" I added my sheets… and blanket… and stuck my fingers in my ears.

"Mmmm, Jake. I definitely need you." Her voice cooed more sexily than I'd ever heard. "I want you right now. Come on. Let's go to b-" Dashing to the window I slammed it shut before she got out the end of that sentence. I didn't want to hear it or any that might follow after.

Argh!

This was not my night! I tried to sleep, but there were too many things on my mind. I tossed and turned for hours. It was around six o'clock in the morning when I last glanced at the clock. The next thing I knew I was being shaken awake.

"NAHUEL, WAKE UP!" Jennifer's voice rang in my ear.

"Okay, okay. I'm awake. What time is it?" I said while rubbing my eyes.

"Nine. I've been up for hours," she told me. "I figured you got enough sleep and would be ready to talk now."

I wasn't, but there was no avoiding my sister. Despite being raised my Joham, whom I regarded as more mad scientist than loving dad, she had turned out to be one of the sweetest, kindest persons I'd ever met.

"Look, I know it seems weird but..."

"Weird? It's wrong! How can you become mates with her if she's already mated to a werewolf? And where is she, or should I say them?" she asked looking around, knowing full well they weren't in my room.

"I've never slept with her; I told you that over the phone."

"So what's your plan, try to push him out first? You know hybrids are just like Vampires. We mate for life. You aren't going to change her mind about him."

"I know that," I wasn't even going to bother mentioning his imprinting on her.

"So what then?"

"She wants us both." I shrugged. Jennifer didn't seem satisfied by that answer, so I explained further. "Since Renesmee she is already mated to the dog," I growled in disgust, "she gave me a choice. I could either agree to her being with both of us, or it would be just them."

"So you're going to share her? How could you agree to such a thing?"

My nightmare popped up in my head. Dividing her time was a best case scenario. I shook my head to clear out those thoughts.

"I didn't know at first. I thought he was just her protector. It wasn't until the other night I found out the exact extent of their relationship."

"What'd you do? Walk in on them?" she chuckled, but didn't realize how close to the truth she was.

"No," I sighed before telling her exactly how I found out the truth.

"Leave here. Leave _her_. Come home with me," she said again, once I was done. "Maysun and Selena would love to see you again. And father would be so happy to finally have all of his children with him. You know it's a great source of pain for him that you refuse to live with your family."

"Huilen is my family."

"She has her own mate. You'd only be in the way," she said. "Just like you are here."

"And what am I supposed to do there… sit around and wait for father to start creating more hybrids? He can't make mates for us. And eventually the Volturi would find out he'd broken their new law and come to destroy all of us."

'No," she snipped. "The Volturi were very precise with their words. Vampires are forbidden from impregnating humans to create more hybrids, but they said nothing about you, who are already a hybrid, from doing the same. Like I suggested to you before; find a human to impregnate and then change her."

"Too cold," I said, double-entendre intended. "Renesmee is my only choice. I need to stick with this. Perhaps in time the dog will leave… one way or another."

"Okay, fine," she said, resigning-herself to my decision. "So how do you plan on winning her over and away from the werewolf?"

"I was hoping you could help me with that. I've taken her on romantic date after romantic date, over and over again, yet nothing seems to work. What am I doing wrong?" Damn, I was whining.

"Are you asking me to tell you what women want?" she smirked.

"No, not women. Just this one particular hybrid," I said. My sister then asked me what Renesmee liked and after confirming that I thought we had gone to all of her favorite places, done everything she liked to do, and I'd shown her some of my favorite things (weaving and playing music among other things) Jennifer helped me plan what she deemed as the "perfect date".

"How was it?" she asked when I returned later that night.

"Same as usual," I huffed.

Renesmee didn't seem to into the date but after it was over we actually ended up making out for a while before I took her back home. But just as I was about to take things further, now that I knew the truth about her relationship with Jacob, I just couldn't. His stench repulsed me and the fact that she was covered in it tonight sickened me even more. The same thing had happened during our last date, and the one before that, and the one before that. I was the one to stop things moving forward between us lately.

"Really?" Jennifer was shocked. I would have thought that would have worked. If a guy took me out on that kind of date I would be putty in his hands. Alright, new plan. I'm going to need to observe her if I'm going to be of any help."

So the next afternoon we followed her scent and found her in the garage with the dog. It was Tuesday, their date night, but since Jennifer was here I was going to use her as an excuse to cut into their time.

"NO!" I heard her scream as we got closer. "JAKE STOP! DON'T!"

There was rustling noises and then laughter from the dog. What was going on?

Once I burst through the door I saw Renesmee on the floor with the dog above her. My cause for alarm was misplaced though. They were both laughing and playing; the dog trying to smear an oil covered rag on her face. Judging by the smile on her face she was enjoying it.

"Jake! Ewww!" she screamed again, once he was successful.

"Told you, you would get it if you kept it up," the dog snickered, as he helped her up.

Finally they noticed our presence.

"Nahuel, Jennifer, hi," Renesmee chuckled, before grabbing a clean rag and whipping the oil off of her face, then pulling the dog to her and doing the same for him. Bosta!. The way she looked him in the eyes and the smile that lit up his face, as she wiped the oil from a spot below his eye, that was what I wanted. That was how I wanted her to look at me. "All better," she whispered to him.

"Thanks," he replied, raising her hand that didn't hold the rag, to kiss it.

"What are you guys going here?" she then asked me, but I wasn't in the mood to hang around any longer. The sight of the two of them together like that sickened me.

"I was just going to show Jennifer around and wanted to see if you would join us, but I can see you're busy. We'll leave you."

"You don't have to do that, give us a few minutes to clean up and we'll come with you."

While the idea of spending the day with the dog made me want to vomit, Jennifer looked pleased. It was just what she needed, or at least what she requested – to be able to observe the two of them together to better understand what made them work as a couple.

Over the next four hours as we toured the three houses, surrounding woods, and visited the nearby town Jennifer watched as Renesmee and the dog flirted, hugged, cuddled, held hands, giggled, told jokes that only the two of them got, and a whole host of other things. Practically the only thing they didn't do was openly make out in front of us.

"So, any insights?" I asked Jennifer, when we were done and Renesmee had gone back to her house.

"You're screwed," she simply yet apologetically said with a tilt of her head.

"Gee, thanks," I huffed.


	21. Never Gonna Happen

**The Jaguar Versus the Wolf**

**Chapter 21 - ****Never Gonna Happen**

**Orbiting Satellites Book Two, Chapter 21 - ****Uncomfortable Reality**** companion**

* * *

"Whatcha doing Nahuel?" Jennifer asked me as she plopped down on my bed.

I know Joham, and my sisters, live differently than my Aunt and I do in the jungle. They live in the modern world, complete with walls, floors, ceilings, electricity and so on but they didn't have the kind of money that the Cullens did. Though I never visited my father before (wherever he lived) I could tell in subtle ways. She didn't outright tell me anything but it was obvious once I started paying attention. The amount of clothes that were in my closet for one thing - she was shocked at the vast amounts, and ecstatic at everything Alice had bought her, even though only a small portion fit. The sizes of the houses the Cullens were living in was another, even though the current ones were much smaller than the house they used to live in, in Washington. And then there were the beds. I'm guessing she normally slept on a much less comfortable mattress; by the way she would jump up and down on the one in the guest room at times, or caress and snuggle under the covers at others. It almost seemed like she was in love with the thing.

"I made a belt for Renesmee. The Cullens are throwing her a birthday party tonight," I told her as I held it up. I've been working on it for over a week now and just needed to wrap it.

Jennifer eyed it appreciatively as I put it in the box. "Pretty. So when's this party?"

"Just after dinner. You should come, there'll be cake. Have you ever tried it? It's delicious."

She made a face in disgust. "I don't know how you can eat that stuff. Human food is nasty. Humans on the other hand… I think I'll go hunt and meet you back here tonight." I didn't say anything but shot her a look. "Don't worry, I'll be home in time for the little nympho's party." That was not what I was worried about.

"Don't call her that and make sure you feed out of state. The Cullens are vegetarians."

"I know, I know." My sister was good like that. While she had no intention of switching her diet, she wasn't going to intentionally cause any problems for the Cullens.

"You know I'm gonna miss seeing you every day."

"Huh?" What was she talking about?

'I've already been here for eight days. I originally planned on only staying a day or two." Did she really think she could convince me to give up on having any kind of meaningful relationship with Renesmee, and leave with her in just two days?

"Are you sure you don't want to stay longer? The Cullens won't mind." Despite what she tried to do I really liked having my sister here. I hardly ever got to see her.

"I can't. Father is expecting me. If I'm not back in a few days he'll start to worry," she told me before she took off.

After I finished wrapping Renesmee's belt, adding Jennifer's name to the card next to my own, I busied myself in my greenhouse for a few hours, ate lunch then went back and just relaxed among the foliage until my stomach started rumbling. Glancing at the wall clock in the adjacent room, I saw that I had zoned out through dinner and it was already time for Renesmee's birthday party to begin.

There would probably be Alice's usual giant cake at the party but I needed something more substantial. While I swept by the kitchen and grabbed a snack I looked around for Jennifer. I hadn't heard her come back. She must still be out hunting. It was a comfort to know she'd listened and obviously traveled far enough outside of the Cullens jurisdiction to feed, but I also had hoped she'd attend the party with me. I'd hoped that if she saw me with Renesmee and her family, and see how good we all got along she might begin to soften her opinion of our unconventional relationship.

"Nahuel, there you are," Renesmee said running up to me, a few minutes later, when I finally made it to her party. She was followed by the dog… and Jennifer. "I was starting to get worried. Alice was just about to… well you're here now." she half-heartedly smiled, not mentioning whatever Alice had threatened.

"Sorry about that," I apologized as I handed her the gift I'd wrapped. Instead of opening it she placed it on a table with all the others.

Close by was the usual immensely overboard cake, this time decorated in purple stripes and gold accented bow icing. Looking around the room I saw that the purple/gold color scheme was not only repeated on the tablecloths, cups and napkins but the normal taupe pillows on the couches, and various other knick-knacks around the room had been switched out for ones in color coordinated party hues as well.

I was looking forward to Renesmee opening my gift but first had to sit through Edward's impromptu piano concert. Bella took a seat next to her husband as he played and the other mated Cullens began dancing with each other in a cleared out section of the living room where the couches and coffee tables use to reside.

"Renesmee, I… um… would you like to dance?"

Oh, no! Why was Jennifer asking Renesmee to dance? The dog looked just as confused as me, then relieved as she agreed, giggling all the way onto the dance floor. He mistakenly saw my sister as less dangerous than me. No matter.

"Thanks, for agreeing to this," Jennifer whispered into her ear as they locked arms. "I really just wanted to get a chance to talk to you one on one, without my brother interjecting himself into the conversation again."

Bosta! This was all I needed. I started making my way across the room to them, but by the time I got past all the moving couples Renesmee and my sister had disappeared.

"Have a seat Nahuel," Edward said, clearly knowing where they'd gone. "You too Jacob," he added as the dog was about to head out the front door. "They'll be fine." He huffed, turned around and sat as close as he could to the door. The rest of the Cullens seemed oblivious as they continued to dance, while I glared between the dog and the door, and he fidgeted, glaring between the door and Edward.

"Time for presents!" Alice eventually sang out over the music. A second later Renesmee and Jennifer walked back into the house.

Renesmee was immediately enveloped between Alice and the dog. While she began opening her gifts I decided to find out what they'd discussed.

"What happened when you left?" I asked Jennifer after pulling her into the next room. The soundproofed walls and door would ensure no one would hear us.

"After I hunted I got the girl a birthday present. Why?"

"That's not what I meant and you know it."

"I know, I know," she chuckled. "Calm down. You're so stressed lately. I just wanted to talk to her, myself, without you butting in so I could find out what she really was like."

"And?" I prodded when she didn't immediately continue.

She huffed and started walking around in circles. "I was wrong before. Renesmee is a lovely girl." Why didn't that make me feel happy? Probably because I knew she wasn't done. Whatever she was about to say I knew I wasn't going to like. She was twisting the rings on her fingers around and around… a nervous habit she'd picked up whenever she wanted to tell me something about our father she knew would upset me. "I don't think she's ever gonna be your mate. It's a pipe dream, one that I don't even understand why you would want. It's obvious she loves Jacob."

"I know that," I admitted. "Renesmee has told me so herself. But she can love me too. Sheesh, can't we go one day without someone reminding me of Renesmee and the dogs feelings for one another?

"You know you've got to stop this. Move on. It's not good for you to keep going on..."

I didn't want to hear this anymore. My sister kept talking but I turned my back to her and like a child covered my ears. "No! Renesmee will be mine someday, just wait and see," I shouted back to her.

"I can see nothing I say is going to get through to you. Well I guess it's a good thing that I'll be leaving soon." she sighed. "Good luck Nahuel. For your sake I hope I'm wrong."

The next morning I drove my sister to the airport. Her flight ended up being delayed for hours. After our talk last night it was awkward between us for the first time ever. Jennifer told me I could go; that she was more than capable waiting for her flight on her own, but I couldn't do that to her. At the very least I could offer to keep her company. So what was originally an hour and a half drive there, arriving two hours before her flight so she could check her and her bags in and then an hour and a half drive back ended up taking over nineteen hours.

I didn't get back to the Cullens till early the next morning. I was tired, hungry, and wanted my bed. But first I needed to let Renesmee know I was back. We were supposed to have lunch together, but I just wanted to grab a snack and sleep for at least six hours. I needed to let her know.

Parking Bella's car back in the garage I saw that only Edwards was missing. It wasn't her scheduled hunting day so most likely Renesmee was home. Walking into the house I didn't hear her but was easily able to follow her, and the dogs, scents upstairs to the movie room.

"We managed to stay awake all night long. Do you want to go to our bedroom or just stay here?" I heard Renesmee ask the dog right before she kissed him. Not that I saw her do it. They must have been lying on the couch and the tall back was in the way. But just because I couldn't see them didn't mean I didn't hear anything. Gross! I've sat on that couch, watched movies on that couch, watched movies with Renesmee on that couch. Knowing they were about to start humping on the thing made my stomach turn.

"Whatever you want, honey. Love ya," he mumbled back, followed by more kissing noises. Argh!

"I love you too, my Jacob." The next thing I saw, was her jumping on top of him.

I couldn't take this anymore. I completely lost it. After hours spent at the airport, in uncomfortable chairs, surrounded by smelly, dirty, loud, disgusting humans I come home to… to THIS!

That was it. I was done.

Slamming the door probably wasn't the smartest thing I'd ever done. Until I did that they hadn't even noticed I was there, too wrapped up in their couch screwing to notice anyone, or anything, else. But the noise alerted them to my presence and as I ran through the forest I could hear them behind me.

Bosta! I could have made a clean break, a clear getaway, if not for my anger getting the better of me. They might have thought I just left with my sister. And if, or when, Renesmee eventually ever realized I was gone and bothered to call I could have lied and confirmed it.

I wanted to outrun them. I didn't want to have the impending conversation that was about to happen, but I couldn't shake them.

Giving up I stopped, turned around, and saw the two worst creatures that had ever entered my life! "RENESMEE, I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE. I cannot be in a relationship with you AND him!" I screamed, while pointed to her dog. "I don't think I can stand to be the other _MAN_ anymore. I don't want to share you. Your _lapdog_ might be brainwashed into thinking that this is acceptable, but I do not!"

"Hey, I thought you loved Nessie?" the dog yelled back. "Why are you so selfish? It's not always about what you want; sometimes you have to make sacrifices for the one you love. Don't you care about her?" Seriously? Besides my Aunt, and sisters, Renesmee was the only thing I ever tried caring about. "Of course not! You only care about yourself. How did Edward ever convince me that you had really changed? I should have known better."

If the dog wanted a fight I'd give him a fight. Once I ended him Renesmee would finally be mine. With a growl I ran straight at him. If I could take him out before he even got a chance to turn into a giant walking flea bag this could be quick and easy. For his size he went down surprisingly easy, breaking a few bones by the sound of it.

Excellent!

I was about to say something witty about how he should go back to play with his puppy pack, thinking he wouldn't be able to do much, since I had injured him so quickly, but before I could he erupted into his giant dog self.

The next thing I knew the dog had pinned me to the ground and was growling in my face.

"STOP IT! Both of you," Renesmee yelled, running to the small space between us and pushing him off of me.

That was all I needed, having to be rescued by her. While I didn't want to end up dog chow I also didn't need her fighting my battles for me.

"Look. I'm sorry about what you saw back there between Nessie and me, but we can make this work," the dog weirdly started apologizing, as soon as he returned to his human form. "You just have to get used to it. I know it's different but it could still…" he continued until Renesmee grabbed his arm, and must have said something with her gift, because I didn't hear a word from her, but the next thing he said was "Nessie, please!"

Please what?

No, I didn't care. I was done. Done with her… and certainly done with her dog. And done with the secret conversations the two of them always seemed to have.

"Nahuel, I'm sorry. I thought this would work..." she began dryly before I cut her off.

"I'm DONE trying to make this work." I needed to calm down enough that I could leave, without her thinking I was just angry. I didn't want her coming after me again. "I'm sorry. I realize that you were upfront with me regarding the two of you, but I just cannot do it anymore. Just the thought of it is more than I can tolerate. It's one thing to know something, but, it is another to have _it_," I pointed at her dog, "shoved in my face."

"Nahuel, I'm sorry. I never meant to upset you. But I'm Jake's Imprint. This is the way it has to be with us," Renesmee shrugged. "I love him, and he loves me. That's never going to change. If you can't deal with that then I don't see us having a future together."

"I need to think about some things… take a break from us for awhile," I said, intentionally appearing to calm down even more.

"Um, alright," she sighed. "If that's how you feel. I'm sorry about all of this. I know you've been through so much. And you changed so much, giving up blood and um... _women, _moving here, away from your family just to be with me. I never meant to hurt you," she said as she attempted to grab my arm.

"Yes, well…" I flung her hand off of me; she would NOT sucker me back in, "I have a lot of thinking to do. I need some time alone, excuse me." I ran off. Not sure where I was going, but I knew one thing, it would be in the opposite direction of the Cullens house.


	22. A New… Mattress

**The Jaguar Versus the Wolf**

**Chapter 22 - ****A New… Mattress**

**Orbiting Satellites Book Two, Chapter 22 - ****Oops! ****companion**

* * *

I had two sets of IDs – license and passport, and a credit card for each identity, all thanks to the Cullens. Randomly pulling out the Nathan Hernandez set, leaving the Nick Rodriguez ones in my wallet, I checked into the most expensive hotel I could find in New Hampshire. _Wentworth by the Sea, _in New Castle was also said to be the best five-star hotel in New Hampshire and judging by the opulence of the lobby the review I read was correct.

The Cullens owed me. At least that's how I saw it. Renesmee already had a mate and her family still let me try to pursue her. How could they? How warped, sick, and twisted was she; and the whole lot of them?

And still the words I told my sister over and over again were true - Renesmee was my only chance. Could I really be with her, while the dog was with her as well?

I needed time to think. And I needed time away from her, but not too far. I didn't want to leave the area. As unlikely as it felt right now… what if I changed my mind in the future?

After signing for the room and seeing the price I started to regret my decision. I could probably rent a motel room for a few months at this price; possibly the entire year.

Tomorrow I'll check out and find some place more affordable, more suitable. But tonight, while I was here I decided I would enjoy myself. After getting up to the room, I didn't have any clothes to unpack (I'd need to go shopping and get some new clothes and other essentials soon) so I picked up the phone and ordered some room service.

The food was delicious. I gorged myself on their Grilled Creekstone Farms Beef Tenderloin, Grilled Northeast Family Farm's Long Bone Veal Chop, and an East Coast Halibut with Hand Spun Pasta. Bella's cooking was good but this stuff was beyond amazing.

The next morning, after I checked out, I started regretting not _borrowing_ one of the Cullens cars. The concierge gave me a funny look when I'd asked her if she could point me in the directions of where I could find accommodations that were the complete opposite of the upscale _Wentworth_ Hotel. Running towards the motel she suggested was not as fun as I had once found it. It was only a few towns away but I had gotten used to riding in a car. Walking and running now seemed so pedestrian. I guess I would have to get use to it once again.

The motel reminded me of the ones I would frequent back in South America when I wanted to feed and screw. The walls, what was left of them, had either gaping holes in the plaster or were covered in dirt, grime, and a host of bodily fluids my enhanced sense of smell and eyesight was able to perceive without effort. The sheets and blanket were the same, but those I could easily wash, having little faith that the motel staff would be doing so. The mattress was going to be harder to get sanitary.

Nothing like this had ever bothered me before, but before I moved in with Carlisle and Esme I had been used to sleeping on the jungle floor, or up in a tree. Animals would deposit their waste all over the place and I didn't care about that. And some of the hotels I would frequent had smelled a lot worse than this one. I never even had a problem with the back alleys I occasionally made use of. It seemed that living with the Cullens had ruined more than one thing about me.

When my stomach churned I thought about ordering some take out, but looking around realized that I couldn't eat in this filth. Knowing that I was planning on staying here for awhile I stripped the bed, then after dropping everything off at the nearest Laundromat, I headed to a store and picked up some cleaning supplies. The store also had small appliances so I grabbed a mini fridge and microwave. The Cullens would probably cut off the credit card as soon as they discovered I was using it and I wanted to get as much as I could before that happened, so after cleaning the room as best I could I loaded up the fridge. But I bought more than could fit in the tiny thing. Maybe I should have found a full size one?

Then again I didn't have a truck to transport the thing. I was a hybrid and easily capable of carrying it the three and a half miles back to the motel, but it would attract attention and that was the last thing I wanted so instead I went back and bought another, and another one after that. The three mini fridges equaled almost one full sized one and fit all the food I bought. Now when I no longer had access to the Cullens money I would be able to still eat for a little while. Maybe by then I will have made a decision about my life.

It was getting late. The sheets should be done by now.

"Here ya go," the woman behind the counter said as she practically threw my items at me. "We did the best we could, but some of that stains wouldn't come out. JoJo," she pointed to some greasy looking guy half hidden by steam in the back, "tried everything, and I've seen him get some of the nastiest crap I've ever seen outta things. I'm not gonna tell ya what to do, but if these were mine id burn em and buy new ones."

It hadn't even occurred to me to do that. It was late now and most stores were probably closed but _tomorrow_, if the credit card was still active, I think I was going to take her advice and also buy a new mattress. Oh, I hadn't even thought of towels. I'd need to get those too. And I still needed clothes.

The next day I found a discount mattress store less than four miles away. Perfect! Now I only had to worry about the card still working.

"That'll be $175.79 with tax," the sales woman said as I handed over the card. "And where are we delivering it to?"

"Can I just carry it out?"

"Unfortunately all we have here are floor samples, your mattress will be coming from the warehouse, but it's guaranteed to be there in 24 hours," she said with a smile. Why was that something to be so happy about?

"Fine," I replied and then told her the address.

"That's a motel," she said after typing it into the register/computer.

"Yeah, I know. I'm staying in room 214. Is that going to be a problem?"

"No, we can do it, she hesitantly said. "It's just a little unusual. Didn't the room come with a bed?"

"It did, but it's gross." I didn't know why, but something about her made me go on to explain that I was going to be staying there for awhile and had no intention of sleeping on something so disgusting.

"Oh," she nodded, seemingly understanding.

I ended up paying extra for a rush delivery (hey it's not my money) so the mattress was set to be delivered at eight that night. That was good because I couldn't spend another night on that flea infested thing. Last night was rough, I couldn't even sleep on the floor, it was also disgusting. But that was wall to wall carpet and I had a feeling the motel management would notice if I ripped it up. After delousing the thing I was thinking of buying a large area rug to at least put down on top of it but that would have to wait. Right now I was trying to figure out how to de-clog a sink. And a toilet. And a shower. When that was done I needed to figure out how to stop the dripping. Apparently the only thing that had been holding the water back before was the layers of crud on the faucet and shower spouts.

After that I found a store nearby that seemed to sell a little bit of everything and bought the linens and clothing I needed, then went back to my room where I went to work cleaning the bathroom.

Another trip to the store had me buying a few gallons of Drano, some light bulbs to replace the ones that were burnt out, can after can of bug killers, and the largest rug they had.

Knock, knock, knock.

There was no clock in here, but that must be my mattress. I hadn't realized it had gotten so late.

"Where would you like it?" the sales women from the mattress store asked when I opened the door.

"I thought it was coming from the warehouse?" I'd assumed a different crew would work there than the store.

Yeah… about that, I lied," she confessed, while running her fingers slowly up and down my arm. "I have your mattress strapped to the roof of my car. What to help me get it down?"

"I think I can handle it," I told her before going to the only Honda in the parking lot with a mattress on it and sliced easily through the ropes with my hybrid strength and carried the thing into my room. "Well, thanks for delivering it," I said awkwardly.

She was just standing in the middle of the room. I never invited her in, yet there she was. "My pleasure," she replied. "Is there anything else I can do for you, Nathan?" she asked, using the fake name on the credit card, while running her fingers between the plunging neckline of her blouse; suggestively grazing over her cleavage.

If this had been two years ago I would have taken her up on her offer. Hell, in a week I might be running back to that store. But right now I was conflicted. I wasn't sure of my feelings for Renesmee, and couldn't do anything until I had made a decision.

"That's very tempting, but I unfortunately have plans tonight," I lied. No need to burn a bridge that I might want to cross later. "Is there a number I can call you at, if they fall through?"

Her frown turned into a smile, believing she wasn't being completely rejected. "Here," she said, handing me a business card for the store with, what must have been her phone number, written on the back.

"Krissy," I said reading her name off the card, "it was very nice to meet you. I'll give you a call later." Then I lead her to the door.

Over the next week I finished fixing up the motel room, going back to the hardware store multiple times to pick up paint, spackle, lamps, a clock, some art for the walls, and a number of other things. Surprisingly the Cullens credit card was still working. Either they hadn't bother checking to see if I was using it, or (much less likely) they had found out and were allowing me to keep it. I wasn't going to press my luck and regularly refilled the fridge as much as I could, while also adding a storage freezer to load up on even more food. It was pretty cramped in the motel room now with everything I put in but it didn't really matter.

Now that everything was done, and I wasn't completely grossed out by my surroundings, boredom was starting to set in. I thought I would be using the time to think about what I was going to do about Renesmee and myself... and the dog. Which I did. But my thoughts also kept wandering back to Krissy. Sure her physical appearance didn't even come close to the perfection that was Renesmee, but she wasn't a hybrid. She was however mildly attractive for a human. Her hair was slightly wavy and dirty blond. There were a few extra pound around her middle, but she in no way could be considered fat or even slightly overweight. In no way at all did she resemble Renesmee… maybe that they both had brown eyes, but that was it. And she was friendly, and nice, and she wanted me; which I wasn't sure if Renesmee did.

I spent the next week thinking about Renesmee. And not thinking about Renesmee. And thinking about _not_ thinking about Renesmee. And also warring with myself of whether or not to call Krissy. Finally on the eighth day I broke down and called. She showed up four hours later when she got off of work.

* * *

**A.N.** Hmmm... i wonder what's going to happen there? Please review and thanks for reading


	23. I Did What?

**The Jaguar Versus the Wolf**

**Chapter 23 - ****I Killed Her?**

**Orbiting Satellites Book Two, Chapter 23 - ****Found Bodies ****companion**

* * *

"Krissy, I asked you to leave." What was she still doing here?

I know I was the one to initiate things, inviting her over, but after we start kissing, and clothes came off, and we were about to take things further I just couldn't go through with it. Worst of all I was a coward and practically ran out of the room. But not before apologizing and asking her to please be gone before I returned. That was an hour ago. She was still lying on the bed, naked, right where I left her.

"Krissy!" I called again a little louder. She still didn't even move. Maybe she fell asleep. Going over to the bed to shake her I noticed there was some bruising on her arms and neck. Had I done that? I didn't think I'd been that rough. But I wouldn't even need to; just using my enhanced vampire strength I easily could have hurt her. Bosta! I should have been more careful.

"Krissy," I tried shaking her gently this time. Still no answer. I shook a little harder and her head flopped to the side, causing her eyelids to burst open. That's when I realized she was dead.

OH NO!

I started going on automatic. This wasn't the first dead body in a motel room for me. Though it was true, most of the time in Brazil the hotels I frequented normally were so low class and dingy that a dead body every now and then was practically to be expected. However, here, no matter how bad the motel was, once she was discovered it would mean trouble for me, and it's not like I could just leave her in the room with me. On the bright side I did have experience disposing of bodies, lots and lots of experience. Neither I, nor my Aunt Huilen, wanted to bring the Volturi down upon us.

I had to wait until dark to make sure I wasn't seen but after re-dressing her and making sure nothing of hers was left in the room I took her out and disposed of the body. Not wanting to risk her remains being found I went into the woods, gathered some fallen tree branches and built a bonfire. In just over an hour everything was gone. Venom was highly flammable and raised the temperature of a normal fire by several hundred degrees so I spit on the pile to ensure no bones or teeth remained. Even the buckles on her belt melted.

As I ran back to the motel I remembered that she had driven here. Crap! How could I be so stupid? Her car was still in the parking lot… right in front of the door to my room. I ran in and searched everywhere but couldn't find the car keys. They must have been in her purse, which was now a pile of ash.

I'll have to figure out how to hot wire the thing later, then roll it off a cliff or something. I don't know. This was all just too much. My brain hurt.

How could this have happened? We barely did anything. And I could have sworn she was still alive when I left. Clearly I was wrong.

I was wrapped in a cloak of self pity. I had killed that young woman, whether I intended to or not. Before I met the Cullens I used to think I was a monster for killing my own mother as I bit my way through her abdomen into this world. They made me rethink that. But now it was confirmed. I was a monster, bringing death and destruction wherever I went.

I tried going to sleep, it was still early but I wanted to put today behind me. Hopefully things would look better in the morning. But try as I might I couldn't fall asleep. And when I eventually did I was plagued by nightmares. I couldn't stay in this room anymore. Everything reminded me of what I'd done.

One thing I was sure about was that there was another dingy motel one town over I could stay at while I figured out what to do. I didn't want to use the Cullens credit cards, though, not so soon after I had binged buying so much last time. Instead I snuck into the management office and found a room that had been vacant for months. That probably meant there was something wrong with it and the owner was too cheap to fix it, only renting it out when and if the place was near capacity. If I was quiet and only entered and left when it was dark I would be able go undetected for some time. The room was covered in mold, toxic to humans, but it wouldn't affect me.

It took a few tries but I managed to get Krissy's car started, but not a lot fit into a sedan so even with it I had to make several trips. Slowly I moved my recent purchases - the mattress, fridges, freezer, microwave, and everything else, from one place to the other. When I was done I made sure to get rid of it far away – I couldn't risk her car being found anywhere near the town I had been in, or the one I dumped the woman's body, or the place I was now in.

I thought everything was going good but once I was settled, the place painted, spackled, and cleaned I had time to think again. And thoughts of what I had done returned. Ten days later I was hiding another body. At least last time I knew Krissy's name. I didn't even recognize this girl.

How could this have happened? Not only had I no memory of bringing her back here, or killing her, including everything that must have happened in between but I don't even remember ever meeting her. Yet here I was… waking up with a dead girl beside me.

I wanting to know the name of this girl I killed. And fed from. And screwed… so before getting rid of the body I swiped her wallet.

Her Virginia issued license said her name was Andrea Carter but I wanted to know more. What was she doing in New Hampshire? What had she done for a living? Did she have a family?

I took out my phone. I could do this. I know I could. I had seen Renesmee use her flat computer to look things up, when she wanted to learn more about whatever subject she had been interested in, a dozen times. But she had on occasion also done it on her phone. It was all I had; I just needed to remember what buttons she'd pressed. Wait... there were no buttons on my phone. This thing had... (What did she call them?) Icons. Now I had another problem. I never bothered to watch which one she pressed to find information out. I knew which one I needed to press to answer the phone when it rang but beyond that I never bothered to learn what the rest of them did.

It took me some time but through trial-and-error I eventually found one where I could type in questions and answers would pop up. An hour later I had typed in the young woman's name and found a few things out about her.

I wasn't used to technology and it took awhile to figure out what I was doing but I kept googling, kept finding out more and more about her life, yet none of it told me what she was doing here, or where we could have met, or why she ended up in my bed. I did find a missing persons report. But it was from six months ago. None of this made sense.

After awhile, not being able to find anything else out, I gave up and started the moving process again. I didn't find any keys on her, and believe me I searched, so I had to carry everything on foot to a new motel. Even though I moved at night, and tried to stick to the woods as much as possible, I still had to partially travel on some roads and got a few strange looks from some passersby.

Two weeks later there was another dead girl's body and another new motel room. I was starting to doubt my sanity. This was not possible, having no memory of ever meeting these women, yet bringing them back to my motel again and again. I couldn't have done this and yet how else could I explain the bodies?

I was going to dump the body after I finished searching her pockets for her wallet, when I smelled something. It was faint, but it was definitely there.

If the pattern held in exactly two weeks another woman's body would be found in my motel room but this time, now that I knew that I wasn't responsible, I'd be ready. I knew what I had to do.

It seemed only right to move again now. I didn't want them catching on that I had found out. But this time when I rented one room, I moved into another. If I was going to catch whoever was doing this I needed to throw them off, but didn't want to do anything seemingly different to spook them off or make them change their plans in any way. I needed as much of an upper hand as I could get. That was the only way I could figure out to stop this.

It was about two weeks between each murder so I wasn't sure exactly when it was going to happen but I made sure not to sleep from 12 days after the last body. Right now I was exhausted. I hadn't slept for three days, keeping myself awake on a combination of adrenaline, caffeine, and pure sheer will.

It was after midnight before they came. I was pretending to sleep on the bed when I heard him approach. Him and the girl.

Using the element of surprise I jumped up and tackled Joham to the ground. At least I think it was him. I thought it had been his scent I had caught, but now I wasn't so certain. Whoever they were they were stronger than me and I knew I couldn't win against a full Vampire, but I was prepared for this. They couldn't carrying a body and fight me off at the same time, it worked in my favor and I was able to quickly block him in, knocking the dresser down in front of him, knowing it wouldn't hold him for long, but a fire would.

Using the small flamethrower I bought at the hardware store last week, I lit the walls, the mattress, the carpet, anything that would catch fire quickly, before pulling the fire alarm, grabbing the girl and running out the door. I thought I saw her move, there was a chance she might still be alive.

A quick pulse check, as I ran down the hallway, revealed that I was wrong. I couldn't be seen running with a dead body and people were starting to come out of their rooms. The only thing I could think of was to dump her in the one place I knew people wouldn't look right away. I ducked into the room I had officially rented at the end of the hall, knowing it would be empty, and left her on the bed. Someone would probably find her soon, but right now I was more concerned about getting out of there.

While I didn't enjoy the fact that I tried to kill my own father (maybe) I also knew the probability was slim. If it was him I didn't know why he was doing this to me. Was it some sort of delayed payback for me sending the Volturi to him years ago, and now he was trying to do the same to me? It was the only thing I could think of.

Bosta! My plan was a complete disaster. I was homeless again, hadn't stopped my father, the motel was now a crime scene, I lost all of my processions in there – clothes, food, appliances, etc… and the body would be found in the room that was registered to me, or at least the fake identity I had used to check into the motel.

I checked into a new motel, using the other credit card, and got some new things but then two weeks later, right on queue it happened again.

I was a complete failure.

Walking to the next town, looking for another new motel, feeling sorry for myself I was debating whether or not I should even bother. Whatever Joham, or whoever, was attempting to do he was bound to be successful sooner or later. Maybe I should just go to the Volturi and get it over with myself.

Suddenly a car sped down the street and came screeching to a stop fifty feet in front of me, then it slowly backed up till it was slowly cruising alongside me on the road.

"Nahuel, I've been looking for you," my sister said to me from her car window.

Maysun? I shouldn't have been surprised. Wherever my father was Maysun and Serena were never far behind.

"Where's Serena?" I said stopping in my tracks and half heartedly looking in the back seat, since I couldn't see her in the front. It was only a slim chance she was lying down, but I checked none-the-less. She wasn't there.

"She's home with father. Aren't you going to ask about him? He misses you."

"If he wants to talk to me he can come find me. Leaving dead bodies in my bed is not the way to go about getting my attention," I growled.

"What are you talking about?" she innocently asked.

Fine, if she wanted to play games I would indulge, and went on to tell her how I had gotten a whiff of Joham on one of the bodies before setting up my trap with the fire the other night. Her showing up here all but confirmed it was him.

"If the scent was that weak then you could be wrong. And either you saw him, or you didn't, and you have no proof."

"I saw him." I know I did. I think. Sure he was wearing some sort of head to toe environmental suit that blocked his face, and the rest of his skin, probably so I wouldn't smell him, but it was him. What other Vampire would do this?

She shook her head. "No you didn't." Liar! She was either in on it and toying with me, or wasn't actively in on it but knew what he was doing and going along with it. Or she was in some sort of major denial. After a moment she sighed, then smiled. "Look, I don't want to fight, my darling little brother. I've come all the way here to see you. Can we just forget about him for a while? Whatever happened I had nothing to do with it."

I didn't know whether to trust her or not. Normally she and Joham were pretty tight. That's to say that my sisters, not Jennifer, but the other two would do anything our father asked of them. But I figured that if I was nice to her and didn't argue, even if she was lying, I would be able to find something out so I decided to play along.

"I'm sorry. It's nice to see you," I said to her with as big of a fake smile as I could give.

"That's better. Now where are you headed?"

I told her the name of the next roach motel.

"Don't suppose I can talk you into upgrading to something a little bit more descent, could I?"

"Why, I'm just going to be forced to find another one in two more weeks." I was trying to keep the anger out of my voice but I knew it snuck in anyway.

Maysun shrugged. "Whatever. Come on," she said flinging the passenger door open. "I'll give you a ride."

We drove a couple towns over and found another crappy motel. Since she was with me I didn't sneak into another room but used the Cullen card again to pay for it. If Maysun found me that meant that she was probably going to tell Joham, which meant I was going to be leaving soon anyway. When the two weeks were up he either left a new body, or tried to kill me for what I done to him, or dragged me with him wherever he was going, or… who knows. The possibilities were endless. Either way the police finding me would probably be a best case scenario.

While cleaning, my sister and I started making plans to go to a few stores and buy me some new clothes, since I had lost all of mine in the fire.

"Maybe you should have picked a less popular motel," my sister said to me as I finished cleaning the sink in the bathroom.

"Why's that?" I don't really care how many people are here. Most motels had a few people staying in them, and were even full every now and then no matter how run-down they looked.

"There are people coming this way. They're smiling," she said in disbelief. "I think you've got some friendly neighbors this time. Or curious ones. Could be undercover cops," she suggested. "Oh, that one's kinda cute, for a human I mean."

"I'll get rid of them," I said coming out of the bathroom.

"Don't. Let's have some fun first. Besides I'm kinda thirsty. When's the last time you fed?" That wasn't going to happen but before I even had a chance to let her know of my change in diet she ran into the bathroom, mumbling about how her hair was a mess. I was going to have to get rid of whoever it was quickly, not needed any more deaths on my hands.

Opening the door I saw the last person I expected to see standing there. "Renesmee…" And then I saw her dog behind her. "What are you doing here, with J-"

"Darling, could you hand me my bag to freshen up a bit first," Maysun called, obviously not noticing or caring that I had already opened the door.

Before I could say another word Renesmee ran and the dog growled at me. Typical.

"Hey, where'd our meals go?" my sister asked when she came out and saw the empty room.

After quickly telling her who they were and what happened, at least what I thought happened (I still wasn't actually clear on that part) I wanted desperately to go after Renesmee but Maysun convinced me otherwise. Whatever she came here for she obviously wasn't ready to talk. My going after her, with her dog in the way, wasn't the smartest plan. And if they were here to try and get me back I wasn't sure if I wanted that.

"Why don't you call her?"

If you don't think she'll talk to me in person, what makes you think she will on the phone?"

"Then leave her a message. She'll call, or come over again when she's ready."

Not trusting that she wouldn't just delete any voicemail I left her I called her father instead. I knew he wouldn't stop until he had delivered my message. Not that I had anything important to say. I just wanted to make sure she was okay.

"Edward, hello, it's Nahuel." He didn't say anything so I continued. "Renesmee was just here but she ran off before she said anything. I just wanted to let you know, to make sure she gets home alright."

"She took off?" He seemed surprised. "Was Jacob with her?"

When was he not with her? "He ran after her when she took off into the woods."

"I'm sure she'll be fine then," he said, his voice rife with annoyance.

"You wouldn't happen to know why she came over, do you?"

"As a matter of fact I do," he told me and then went on to explain how she came as an official representative of the Cullen household, to remind me not to hunt in their territory.

"What?" He knew I only ate human food now.

"Don't even Nahuel. The motel fire made the news; we know about the body that was discovered in your motel room. Surely you don't think we are going to just let something like that go, do you?"

I was going to say something, deny that it was my doing but he kept talking before I could even respond to the allegations.

"We understand what you did is perfectly normal for our kind but Renesmee was supposed to tell you... to remind you not to hunt in the area. Please. You know slips like this put all of us in danger."

If only he knew the truth, but I didn't think he'd believe me, so instead of arguing I just said "Fine" and hung up. What else could I do? I wasn't going to convince him over the phone.

At least now I knew why Renesmee had come over and it wasn't to try to convince me to get back together with her and the dog. But I wasn't sure if I was happy about that or not.


	24. I Admit It, I Need Help

**The Jaguar Versus the Wolf**

**Chapter 24 – I Admit It, I Need Help**

**Orbiting Satellites Book Two, Chapter 24 - ****Where Is He? ****companion**

* * *

How was it possible?

I tried again to capture, or kill, or maim, or even just unmask my father when he yet again attempted to dump another woman's dead body in my motel room. Knowing that he was coming I tried a different approach this time. Clearly faking sleep wasn't going to work but I thought if I stayed away, just out of sight enough and masked my scent so that he couldn't smell me in the area, I would be able to sneak up on him as he dumped the body... but that didn't work either.

He'd somehow snuck in and out, leaving the body, and I never even saw him.

I had waited hours for him to show up, all through the night and most of the morning but as the sun rose through the sky and I hadn't seen him, I went back into the room in the afternoon, like I had for the past four days to get some sleep, and there she was lying on the bed.

My choices were limited. The motel wasn't close to any woods, parks, or any nature anywhere. Winter was settling in and New Hampshire being so cold meant the ground was already frozen solid. Using my enhanced strength to dig the hole, burying the body would not be difficult, once I got her there, but it would take time. And the cold temperatures meant it wouldn't decay, more likely to be found, preserved, in the spring. That wouldn't work. I worried a fire would be too easily detected, the smoke would be seen, people would be curious, and where could I do it without burning the entire complex down? I didn't want another visit from the Cullens. It had been a mistake coming here. I should have found something more on the outskirts of town like the previous motels. It was risky but the dumpster seemed the ideal place to leave the body.

After wrapping the body in a shower curtain I threw it in the dumpster, knowing that it would be discovered eventually, but thought the plastic would give me more time. It would contain the stink that would eventually come as the body decomposed, as well as help keep animals away, and seal in any leaking bodily fluids. I didn't take into account how full the dumpster already was. It was just my luck that when the garbage truck came to empty the bin some of the contents spilt out, dead body included.

I was going to have to move again. A dead body meant police, investigations, and questions. There wasn't time to move everything, so I grabbed as much as I could carry and took off in the opposite direction the sirens were coming from. But I didn't go far. At least not right away. I stayed just long enough to eavesdrop and find out what the police knew.

My name, or rather Nick Rodriguez, the name the Cullens had put on my other credit card that I had used when I checked in was mentioned. The fact that all of my clothes were missing was suspicious. How ironic.

Over the next several days every guest of the motel for the past year, save me, was located. That made me suspect number one in the eyes of the police.

That fake identity was burned. And worse I was out of cards. The Cullens had only giving me the two.

As much as I hated the idea, I was going to have to go back to the Cullens. I needed help. They already thought I was behind this; I doubted I would even make it past the front door. As soon as one of them sounded the alert the others would attack. The only hope I had of survival was the possibly of Edward hearing me first.

I knew he had about a three to five mile range so as soon as I within six miles of the house I started mentally screaming how I needed to talk to him, to explain.

I thought my luck was finally starting to change when Edward greeted me at the door but Rosalie was right behind him and nearly took my head off.

"It wasn't me. Please just let me explain," I screamed, just before Edward stopped her. Maybe I should have specifically thought about how I suspected Joham was behind all of the bodies. "I'm being set up, that's why I'm here. I need your help."

"Yeah, right. You just don't want us going after you and ripping your head off. Looks like that plan backfired," Rosalie laughed.

I knew she didn't really liked me, or want me anywhere near her niece, but for all her threats I hadn't thought she really wanted to kill me.

"Rose, I think I can handle this. Why don't you go see what Nessie and Jacob are up to in the garage?"

She didn't seem to like Edward's idea, but left anyway.

"Nahuel, why don't you come into the house and we can talk," Edward said as he led me through the front door.

Him being a mind reader was a great timesaver in times like this. I quickly rethought of every body discovery I made since I had left.

"I'm sorry we doubted you. I'm sorry _I_ doubted you, Nahuel. I should have known that the change you made for my daughter was permanent."

"No, it's partially my fault as well," I admitted. "It was what I did in my past that made you think what was happening would in any way be attributed to me."

"You're a Vampire. We all have inhuman urges and desires. I've read the minds and thoughts of some of our kind that have done much worse. I even know of some humans who have done worse."

"Renesmee!" I exclaimed as she and her dog joined us in the living room. "I'm so glad to see you again. I was so worried after you ran off, at the motel. You never called me. It seems you all have been under the impression I've been recklessly feeding from humans once again. But I have assured Edward that this is untrue."

"It seems we jumped to conclusions and were wrong about him, Renesmee," Edward said, backing me up. It looked like she believed me… or him. But the dog clearly didn't.

"Then who was the woman at the motel?"

"That was my sister."

"No it wasn't her." What? Yes it was. Why did Edward say that? "It was one of his other sisters, Maysun," he then clarified. Oh, someone must have mentally asked him a question.

"Jennifer is normally the only sister I stay regularly in contact with, but I enjoy Maysun's company as well, from time to time." Our previous love of feeding styles had meshed very well. But that was in my past, and Renesmee didn't need to know we would sometimes engage in orgy feeding feasts together over the decades. I could see that Edward hadn't liked that revelation, but thankfully didn't mention it. "I'm sorry if I caused you any confusion or undue stress, but you ran off before I could explain."

"I'm sorry. It was just a shock and I jumped to the wrong conclusion. Can you forgive me?" Renesmee asked.

She didn't even need to. "It's alright; I understand how you may have thought that. Now that you're here, I was wondering if I may talk with you, in private."

It looked like she wanted to come, but the dog held her back.

"Jacob, let her go," Edward told him. "She'll be alright."

"Come on, let's go for a walk in the woods, behind the house," she said. "Jake, go back to the garage. I'll meet you there when I'm done."

"No way," the dog practically growled to Edward, "he's not sa-"

"I can take care of myself," she cut him off. "And if it makes you feel better, I won't leave my father's range." That seemed like enough of a guarantee for the dog that we were _allowed_ to leave.

"You left," she said to me when we got to the woods. She seemed angry, but not as much as I thought she would be.

"Yes," I admitted.

"You said you just needed time to think about things; that you just wanted to take a break for a while, but you've been gone for months."

"I'm sorry I didn't come back earlier, but I needed time to think and it took a long time to figure out what I wanted. But once I did I should have come back and told you of my decision."

"Why didn't you?"

"There were... complications." In truth I was scared partially that her family would kill me for what my father had done (once I realized it was him at least) and partially I didn't want to come back. We were done. Through. Over. She didn't need me, she had the dog. My coming back wouldn't change that. Nothing I could do would change that.

"But now you're back," she said again.

"I need help," I told her.

"So, I'm not the reason why you came back. It's only because of Joham."

"Yes," I admitted again.

"Boy, you sure know how to make a girl feel special." I could tell by her smirk, that she was trying to make me feel better; get rid of some of the tension that was present, but all it did was make me angry.

"You want me to make you feel special? That's a joke right? I tried for months to make you feel special. And what did I get for my time? A few kisses. A hug or two."

"But I… I…" she stammered.

"I did everything I could think of to make you happy. And what did I get for all my troubles? You ran around with a DOG behind my back!

"I told you about us!" she yelled back.

"Only after I discovered his scent in your room." Argh! This is not how I wanted this conversation to go.

We yelled and screamed at each other some more until I think both of us got everything out of our systems.

I knew they didn't care about me but it was surprising that no one from her family came to make sure she was okay. We were loud enough that they must have been able to hear us. At least the odd grunt or growl, if not the actual words. But no one did, and eventually we stopped yelling and started talking. Really talking. Probably for the first time ever. If we had talked like this when we were dating we might have actually made it. Dog or no dog. But now I guess we'll never know. Being back in her presence made me quiver, shaking my resolve, she was just so beautiful, and our children... No!. She made me see that we weren't right for each other. Something slipped out why we were yelling. I never meant for her to know, but once it was out there she finally made me realize that wanting to be with her so I could father a child was not enough to build a relationship on.

I thought she would have been madder. I had wanted to use her, for my own selfish reasons. And she was mad. But then I could see the anger slowly dissipate. It didn't completely disappear, but she said how she understood, her getting concerned about her own reproductive deadline as well. I could potentially father a child at any age. She had only a little over a year left.

"So I guess this is goodbye again then," she said as we walked back to the house after we had worked out all of our issues.

"I hope not."

"Nahuel, I thought you understood. We can't-"

"No," I smirked. I was not trying to get us back together again. "I mean I was hoping to stay. The complications I mentioned earlier… I need your families help… and protection."

That got her attention.

"Of course you can stay," Esme said, exiting my former room. "Everything is just as you left it in there. Edward briefed me on the situation, I just changed the bed linens and brought in fresh towels."

"We should have a family meeting," Edward said. "Bella, Carlisle, and Jasper should be home any minute. Nessie why don't you go get Jacob in the garage. Esme, can you track down Alice? I believe I heard her mention something about swatches," they both nodded before taking off. "And I'll see if I can interrupt Rosalie and Emmett," he shuttered. "Just have a seat in the living room Nahuel. Everyone should be here soon."

The meeting went well. Everyone (mostly) believed me (and Edward) and the Cullens thought that if I was staying with them Joham wouldn't risk dumping more bodies on me. The next step would be to locate him, to discover whatever his plan was. Alice couldn't see him, since she couldn't see hybrids, and my father was always around one of my sisters. Jennifer didn't know where he was. And even though I had just seen Maysun I couldn't get in touch with her, or Serena, so for now it was just a wait and see game to see what my father did next.

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**A.N.** thanks for reading and please review


	25. Flying

**The Jaguar Versus the Wolf**

**Chapter 25 - Flying**

**Orbiting Satellites Book Two, Chapter 25 - Finally companion**

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Brrnnnnng… Brrnnnnng… Brrnnnnng… Brrnnnnng

Argh! What was that noise?

The alarm clock? I don't remember setting it but Esme may have. She'd gotten worried that I had spent most of my days sleeping and not only bought it for me, but started setting it too, when I didn't do it myself, so that I would at least get up to eat breakfast.

Brrnnnnng… Brrnnnnng… Brrnnnnng… Brrnnnnng

Bosta! The sun wasn't even up yet. Grabbing the evil box I saw that it wasn't even six in the morning. Two hours! I wanted those two more hours of sleep. Instead of pushing the button on the top of the thing I crushed it in my hands. No more early mornings for me.

Brrnnnnng… Brrnnnnng… Brrnnnnng… Brrnnnnng

Why was I hearing that annoying sound still?

Oh, it must be coming from my phone.

Oops!

After searching for it for a minute I found the stupid thing in yesterday's pants. Normally the thing went to voicemail after four rings, so whoever it was must have been calling over and over.

"Hello," I groggily answered.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Jennifer's frantic voice screamed at me.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," I assured her. "I was just asleep. What's up." She normally didn't call me unless there's a specific reason.

"Oh, sorry. I ran into your Aunt, she asked me to get in touch with you. Christmas is coming up and you haven't been back for a while. She's hoping you'd go back and spend it with her and Roberto."

That sounded nice. I missed my Aunt but at the same time Joham was out there somewhere and I had no idea what his plans were. It could be dangerous. It could be deadly.

I gave my sister a vague answer to pass along, not exactly committing myself to returning for Christmas, but not telling her to say I wouldn't be returning either, however a trip at this point would most likely be impossible.

Esme caught the tail end of my phone call and after I turned off the phone she dragged the rest of the story out of me.

"What if Carlisle and I went with you?" she suggested.

"He's needed at the hospital, I couldn't ask that of him."

"But we're not," Alice skipped over to my room, dragging Jasper behind her.

"I thought you couldn't see hybrids."

She shook her head. "Still can't, I just happen to have been coming over anyway."

"You'd be okay with us missing Christmas here this year?" Jasper asked her. "It's the first one Renesmee actually asked us to celebrate. This is important to her."

"There's time for both," Alice assured him. "Come on, it'll be fun. We'll go with Nahuel, find his Aunt, and her mate, and then come back with plenty of time to spend Christmas here." Then she stopped looking at Jasper and turned towards me. "You'll be fine once you're with Huilen, right?"

"You're asking me? Aren't you supposed to have all the answers for future events? I'll only consider it if you suddenly learn to see me coming back." I could see her getting angry, so I amending my statement, "Or at least see my bedroom disappearing again." As much as I loved my Aunt I really didn't feel like risking my life to go see her. There would be other Christmases, hundreds of them if I could just get through this one.

She huffed, but said "You'll be fine," after a few seconds. "Trust me."

Hopefully she actually had a vision and wasn't just looking for an excuse to go on vacation.

* * *

"Are you leaving us?" Renesmee looked confused.

Jasper, Alice, and I were about to head to the airport and I had neglected to inform her of my plans. The only reason she knew was because she had walked out of her house just as I was putting my bag in Alice's Porsche.

I'm visiting my Aunt for the holiday," I told her.

"Is that safe? Isn't your father after you?"

Did she really care? Or would she be happy to get rid of me? I wasn't sure, but decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. "Alice and Jasper will be accompanying my down there. And I should be safe enough with my Aunt and her mate."

"Are you coming back?" She almost looked worried, but it was hard to tell, since she was staring at her feet instead of at me.

"You will see me again," I assured her.

"I know we've had our issues, but I care about you… as a friend," she quickly, yet unnecessarily, amended. "I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you. Please be careful."

I assured her I would. Then it was time to leave, so we said our goodbyes and even managed an uncomfortable hug, before Alice rushed me into her car.

* * *

I'd never flown first class before but according to Alice this was the only way to travel.

She was right!

I put on one of the dozens of free movies available, while I tried to eat my steak. It looked amazing, smelled even better, yet I had no desire to eat it. It wasn't because I was craving blood; I hadn't in over a year. I should have been hungry but my stomach was doing flip flops.

Alice poked her head in between my seat and the empty one next to me, from the row behind that she and Jasper were sitting in. "Relax, you don't think your father is really going to attack you in the middle of the air do you?"

"I'm fine," I said brushing off her concerns. I didn't think I looked that nervous but, then again, her mate was the expert on all things emotional.

Suddenly I did feel 100 times more relaxed. Jasper was clearly using his gift on me, not that I minded. I decided to just sit back and enjoy it. There would be plenty of time for me to worry once they went back to New Hampshire.

"Thanks," I mumbled to him as I quickly devoured the meal then slipped an eye mask on and went to sleep in the most ridiculously comfortable airplane chair I had never sat in.

The next thing I knew Jasper was waking me up. We had landed. After getting our bags and going through customs the three of us began the second leg of our trip. Huilen and Roberto move around a lot, so Alice used her gift to see where to go. I had assumed after the luxury plane ride we would have been traveling by some means other than running, but as they took off into the forest I saw that I was wrong.

I should have figured when Alice insisted we each only take one backpack with us. Since they were planning on turning around and heading back to New Hampshire, once we located my Aunt, they probably only brought theirs to not seem strange to the customs officials.

"So, how do you normally do this?" Alice asked me, looking up at the tree tops, once we had run a couple kilometers, away from human eyes.

"Do what?"

"Swing from the tree vines. Isn't that how you get around here?"

"Never tried it," I admitted.

"Really? I could have sworn…"

"Why don't we just continue to run," Jasper suggested.

"The Amazons do it. I'm sure we can figure it out," she said leaping up to one of the top tree branches. There weren't any vines near her, but she spotted one twenty feet away and leapt for it.

Jasper chose to stay with me on the ground, but she just looked like she was having so much fun.

She had to come down as we leapt over one of the wider rivers with no trees in the vicinity. Once we were on the other side she zigzagged to the left. My Aunt must be on the move. The next time when Alice jumped up to swing from the trees I joined her, and so did Jasper.

Leaping from tree to tree, with nothing holding me to the ground, dipping and rising as I swung from vines, it felt like I was flying. The Amazons were geniuses.

Why hadn't my Aunt and I ever tried this before? It was amazingly fun. I was wrong before. THIS was the best way to fly!

All too soon it was over. Eighty meters ahead I could see Roberto. That meant that my Aunt was somewhere nearby.

Alice really needed to work on how she introduced herself to new Vampires. Just because she could see that her and my Aunt's mate would become friends didn't mean he wouldn't try to rip her head off, before she got the chance to explain who she was. Being a Full-Vampire she was naturally faster than me.

I tried going faster, but even running at top speed I was still too late as I watched her drop directly in front of him. He must have just reacted on instinct as he tried to rip off her arm. She saw it coming and he never even touched her. Jasper must have expected this, because he was there in an instant, tackling Roberto to the ground.

None of Alice's cries for them to stop were doing any good. Faster than I thought possible Jasper was behind Roberto, pinning his arms behind his back by one of Jaspers while the other had him in a headlock.

I thought Jasper was really going to rip his head off until he spoke. "Stop fighting. We're friends of Huilen."

"Roberto!" I screamed as I finally arrived. But I wasn't the only one. My Aunt appeared from the opposite direction.

"NO!" she screeched as she tried to pull Jasper off of her mate.

Eventually everyone settled down. Jasper released Roberto, Huilen introduced Alice and Jasper to him, and I gave my Aunt a long overdue hug.

I'd like to say this happened quickly, but in reality it was slow going. Even with Jasper's gift it took hours to get Roberto to trust them. But once we were all friends, or as close as we could be, before Alice and Jasper had to leave, they opened their backpacks. I thought they'd been full of clothes, but I was wrong. In true Alice fashion she had packed gifts from all of the Cullens for the three of us.

"Don't open them until Christmas," she said before the two of them took off. They would have to rush to make their plane. The fight with Roberto wasted the time we had planned for them to spend talking, visiting, telling stories, reminiscing… whatever. I wasn't sure exactly what they had planned. But it didn't matter anymore. Alice and Jasper were leaving.

* * *

**A.N.** Not the most exciting chapter (really just another filler, but necessary.) If you have any ideas how to spice it up let me know.

Special thank you to **hbyrd28** for continuing to review. Thanks.


	26. Stupid Phones

**The Jaguar Versus the Wolf**

**Chapter 26 - Stupid Phones**

**Orbiting Satellites Book Two, Chapter 26 - ****Christmas Morning ****companion**

* * *

Santas, wreaths, bows, rocking horses, angels, candy canes, Christmas trees, and a whole slew of other things; I had never seen so many different kinds of wrapping papers in my very long life. The Cullens had gotten presents for each of us.

Carlisle and Esme got me, my Aunt, and Roberto each a journal. Not just any journal, but one with vellum pages and a soft leather cover. Things like this have not been made for decades. Things like this are the only ones that would last for decades. Each was handmade and bound in the traditional way. They were beautiful.

Emmett and Rosalie got my Aunt and Roberto a private gift that, according to the card my Aunt read, they were to open when they were alone, so I was not exactly sure what it was, but Roberto seemed very happy about it. There gift to me did not make me as happy. Not surprising since Rosalie pretty much… no she completely and absolutely hated me. First chance I got I planned to dump the thing in the closest river.

Jasper and Alice on the other hand were so thoughtful with their gifts that I began writing a thank you note almost as soon as I tore off the wrapping paper. How they knew I would like a Swiss Army Knife was beyond me. It was so amazing; something so small, but held so many tools that could do a plethora of things. Just thinking of the amount of instruments, and beads, and jewelry I could make with it gave me so many ideas. This little tool will keep me occupied for a very long time.

I knew Alice would be able to see Aunt Huilen and Roberto so naturally their gifts were perfect for them. And likewise Edward must have read my mind and he and his wife had procured gifts that he _knew _we would approve of.

That there was a present for each of us from Renesmee was surprising. I assumed she would have gotten something for my Aunt, since the rest of her family did. Either that or I would have figured she'd have gone in on a present with her parents. I was surprised to see that she had not only gotten my Aunt and Roberto their own gifts, but she also had given one to me as well. But for some reason… I don't know why, but I was even further surprised that she had also signed the dogs name to the cards.

After everyone opened their presents there was one other box. It was plain brown, no wrapping paper, no bow, no card.

Who was it for?

My Aunt reached for it and as she opened the lid I saw that while it was a gift, it wasn't a Christmas present. The Cullens had purchased two cell phones, one for my Aunt and one for her mate. There's also something else in the box. At first I thought it was a mirror but while it was reflective I couldn't exactly see myself and it was hooked up to a bunch of wires. Whatever it was must have been important, but I put it aside until I could get in contact with one of the Cullens to find out what we were supposed to do with the thing.

Later in the day, just like I had expected, my phone started ringing.

Alice.

She explained that the mystery item was a solar battery charger. Now the phones made more sense. She and her family wouldn't have given phones if we wouldn't be able to use them in a day or two once the initial battery died.

"They're not actually cell phones either, Nahuel," Alice went on to explain. "Their satellite phones, just like yours. Cell phones wouldn't work in the jungle. These don't have to be within a cell tower's range for them to work." The fact that mine was a _satellite_ phone and not a _cell_ phone was news to me. Though I didn't really know what the difference was, but it didn't seem to matter. In the end they worked the same, at least on my end - you pressed buttons and were connected to people you wanted to talk to. That's all I cared about.

I was trying to explain the phones to my Aunt as best I could when a new chime started going off on my phone; one that I've never heard before. "Hello," I said into the phone, but for some reason was assaulted with Alice's hysterical laughter.

"Nahuel, take the phone away from your ear, but don't hang up."

Once I did I saw her face on the screen instead of just the phone number that normally showed up.

"I thought it would be easier if we could talk face-to-face," she said, and then went on to explain the concept of Skype calls to all of us. Roberto ended up admitting he'd seen people using phones like this before but never used one himself.

He was turned only in the 1940's, and though phones had been around for decades at that point, he'd once mentioned how his family didn't have one; actually no one in his village did except for at the Governor's House. Still the arrogant prick somehow seemed fit to deem himself an expert in all things phone related now.

The next hour was spent trying to ignore him as Alice instructed us how to work the video call feature. It would have gone easier, faster, if he didn't continually try to give _helpfully_ tidbits of nonsensical information that had nothing to do with our current situation.

"Roberto, I don't care if you single-handedly inserted the climbing spikes for every telephone pole in your city, while you were still human!" I finally shouted. I was trying to hear Alice explain how to make, not just receive Skype calls versus regular phone calls.

"Hey, I'm trying to help. But if you want to stay technologically ignorant then fine," he shouted back before taking off further into the forest. My Aunt quickly followed.

Holding the phone in front of my face I told Alice that they were both gone.

"Do you think you'd be able to explain everything to them when they get back or should I call back tomorrow?" she asked me. "There's still a lot to go over."

Roberto was right about one thing… I was technologically ignorant. "You better call back tomorrow." Though she just explained how to do it I wasn't sure I would even be able to figure it out again myself to call her.

"Okay, well then I guess I'll talk to you later."

"Wait!" I shouted, hoping to catch her before she ended the call. Her image was still on the scene. Good. "I was wondering if I could talk to Renesmee." I wanted to thank her for the present she got me.

"Oh… um… I think she's still sleeping. She and Jake haven't come over yet. We're actually all at Esme and Carlisle's just waiting for them."

"Oh, alright. Would you ask her to call me later? And please tell everyone else a big thank you, from my Aunt and I, and Roberto," I added as an afterthought, "for all of the Christmas presents."

It was over seven hours later when my phone began ringing again. A regular ring, not that strange video ring. I was thankful for that. While I could see the use for talking to someone face to face it still seemed unnatural (like most technology). It probably was my mind connecting it to all things Joham – he was obsessed with anything new, to which I naturally became repulsed against it, and him.

"Merry Christmas," "Happy Holidays," Renesmee and I both said at the same time when I answered the phone.

We both started laughing then I asked her how her Christmas was going.

"Pretty well, my grandfather flew here for a visit. It's really nice to see him. You know I don't get to see him all that much; and with my rapid growth and certain... developments he was a little shocked by things but Jasper's working on him." I assumed by that, she meant he was using his gift to calm her grandfather down. "How is it seeing Huilen and Roberto again?"

"They're fine," I assured her. "But I really wanted to talk to you and thank you for your present. It was so thoughtful."

"That's... great to hear. I wasn't so sure but Jake thought you could use it." It was the dog's idea to get me a subscription to eHarmony? I wasn't exactly sure what it was, but assumed it had something to do with music and relaxing, which was exactly what I needed with everything going on with my father.

"He um... he didn't write anything ... err, inappropriate on the card did he?" she hesitantly asked me.

He wrote the card, too? "No," I replied, in shock. "It was fine, very nice. I thought you would have written it."

"I'm sorry. I should have. I was just very busy at the time. Jake and I were tag-teaming, trying to get everything bought and wrapped. But I'm glad you liked your gift," she said switching the subject back.

"Yes, it's perfect. Although I don't know how much use I will get of it in the rainforest."

"I actually thought you'd be coming back here soon, that's more where you'd use it."

"Of course I will. I should be back within the week."

She started laughing. "Did I say something funny?"

"No, it's not you," she's giggled. "I'm sorry, Jake was just kissing my arm and it tickled."

Right, of course. Some of the anger I was still holding onto returned, tenfold. "I should go. Huilen and Roberto will be missing me," I quickly said, then ended the call before she had a chance to say goodbye.

* * *

**A.N.** So what did you think? Was Nahuel's gift from Nessie and Jake funny or too mean? Please review.


	27. Fireworks

**The Jaguar Versus the Wolf**

**Chapter 27 - Fireworks**

**Orbiting Satellites Book Two, Chapter 27 - ****Reconciliation**** companion**

* * *

Over the next few days I caught up with my Aunt, and got to know Roberto better. It didn't help our relationship.

We did all the things my Aunt and I use to do when it was just the two of us. Then on my last day, before I was scheduled to return to the Cullens, Roberto suggested we do one of the things he enjoyed. My Aunt seemed to have also become fond of them. I wasn't.

It seems he had enjoyed gambling in his human life and once Roberto became immortal that _infatuation_ exponentially increased. Only now the stakes were much higher, the bets riskier, the dares greater, and the outcomes more deadly… for the loser anyway.

There weren't that many ways to kill a Vampire, but running through a burning building or jumping over the mouth of an active Volcano, seemed like they would work.

"Who's up for a game of _Hot Potato_," he'd asked, while tossing a live grenade back and forth between his hands. Since my limbs were not re-attachable, if they got blown off, I declined.

I know this life could be long and boring at times but it could also be wonderful. He'd only recently found his mate in my Aunt. I assumed he loved her and couldn't understand why he was trying to end his life.

"I'm not," he insisted, when I confronted him. "I just like keeping things interesting."

"Huilen hasn't given you enough entertainment?" I didn't want to be crude but couldn't understand him.

"Of course she does, that's why I want to share this with her. Everything's much more exciting since I met her."

"But what if something goes wrong? Do you know what it would do to her if she lost you?" Even if my Aunt hadn't told me how much she loved him, I could not only see it in the way she looked at him, but also in the way she talked about him to me. "Or you her?"

"Nahuel, you were born immortal. Huilen and I were not. When I was human I had expected to be dead decades ago. Huilen has been alive over a century longer than what is natural. We've both talked about this. If something were to happen to one of us then the other would gladly follow. Now that we've found each other we're content; we know that each day is a gift, but it doesn't have to go on forever. It shouldn't."

While I didn't agree with him I understood and didn't push it further. He, in turn, agreed to not risk his or my Aunt's life, at least not while I was with them. Instead I spent the remainder of the day informing them of everything that had been going on with Joham.

"We're going with you to the airport," my Aunt insisted when it was time for me to leave. "Maybe we should fly back with you. Roberto, how do I get on one of those air ships?"

Clearly she was overreaching. I was the one Joham seemed to be targeting and even I wasn't panicking that much. "There's no need for you to do that," I immediately tried to assure her. "I'll be fine. Alice, the short woman that came here with me, do you remember her gift?" She nodded. "She sees that I will be returning to them."

"She can see the future?" Roberto asked.

I nodded.

"But she can't see your kind," my Aunt argued, the stress going up in her voice.

"She figured out a way. Things disappear from her visions when I'm around. She saw my room at the Cullens disappearing. It means I'll return to them."

"Or your dead body will, or their daughter helps clear the room out when they learn you won't be coming back, or she just wanders in one day, or it could be a million other things."

While I talked her out of flying all the way to New Hampshire she also didn't leave my side until they practically walked me onto the plane.

As soon as we left the forest my Aunt got more than a few stares. "I wish you would have taken my advice and changed into more contemporary clothing."

"What does it matter? I made this dress myself, and love it. It was the traditional clothing of my people." Yes, it was… over 100 years ago. "So people look. We'll never see them again, and if any cause too big of an issue then we can always have an early dinner tonight." She chuckled at one person who was not only staring but pointing his phone at her.

"You're here to make sure Joham doesn't kill me, can you try to make sure you don't do anything that will force the Volturi to come after you." An airport, with hundreds of people, and thousands of cameras, was not the place to make a scene, and eating a few humans would do a lot more than make a scene.

"This is an airport. People come here to leave. Some come back, some don't. It's an ideal hunting ground."

"Roberto…" I growled. He wasn't helping.

"Alright, Nahuel," my Aunt sighed. "Would it make you happier if we promised not to eat anywhere in the airport? We'll lure them away; I saw one of those motels you seemed to favor, just over a mile from here." She seemed please with her compromise.

"Thank you." That was the best I was going to get.

"_Flight 104, direct to Logan Airport, Boston, Massachusetts, USA is now boarding at gate 3. Flight 104 to Logan Airport now boarding," _a voice called out from the overhead speakers in Portuguese and then repeated the message in English.

"That's me."

"Call us on the sat-e-lite cell phone when you are safely inside the Cullen's residence."

"I will," I assured my Aunt, before boarding my flight.

When the plane touched down, and I turned my phone back on, I got a message from Alice; she and Jasper were waiting for me just outside of customs to pick me up and take me home.

Home.

Was the Cullen's residence my home? I wasn't sure. They weren't family. Renesmee, the only person on the planet suitable to be my mate, could have been, but she preferred the company of a dog over me. My Aunt was family, but she had her own mate now, and we didn't seem to have much in common anymore. There were my sisters, only one of which I regularly talked to, and by regularly I mean once every few years. Technically Joham was my father… biologically, at least. Yet here I was, running back to other Vampires, who were not my family, to keep me safe from him.

Life back with the Cullens was fine. No, make that dull. There was nothing to do but I refused to resume my previous habit of sleeping the days away. In a strange way Roberto's death defying stunts taught me that I needed to make the most of my life. I just didn't want to risk it in the process.

I had only been home for two days when Alice burst into my bedroom.

"Time to wake up, we have a lot to do today." she shrieked in my ear as she threw the covers off of my bed.

Looking at the clock I saw it was only six in the morning. Not sleeping all day was one thing, but it wasn't daytime yet. So with no intention of listening to her, I retrieved the blanket that was now on the floor and got back into bed. "I'm sleeping. Go away," I yawned.

"It's New Years Eve. We're going out. So you better get dressed if you don't want me carrying you to the fireworks display in your PJs."

Argh! I hated when she got like this. But I also knew there was no stopping her. Resigned I begrudgingly got up and started dressing in the clothes she was laying out for me.

She started jumping up and down. "Yeah! Fireworks are so much fun."

Fire-works? "What are…"

"You must have seen them. In the sky sometimes at night, for a celebration." She continued explaining, when I kept giving her a look that showed I had no idea what she was talking about. "The lights at night, big explosions of color. Boom, boom, boom." She threw open her hands, from tight balls, over and over to demonstrate what she meant.

"Um…" I was still coming up blank.

"Oh, never mind," she waved her hand. "You'll see them tonight and trust me… you'll love them."

"Tonight? So then we're not leaving right now?" Why the hell did she wake me up then?

She looked at me like I had two heads. "No, of course not. We need to get you ready first."

I looked down at my now dressed body. What else was there?

Apparently a lot. The clothes, which I hadn't realized while I was putting them on, were new. That wasn't too surprising, Alice never let me wear clothes more than once, but these didn't come from my fully stocked closet. These were a completely different style of clothes than what she previously dressed me in.

"You're stuck in a rut, and I've decided that if you aren't going to get yourself out of it, then it's going to be my job to do it. We're starting with your clothes. New clothes for a new you. Now I'm not going to cut your hair, since it won't grow back if you don't like it, but let's try something other than a braid."

"Um…" Before I could object she had pulled out the piece of leather that had been holding my hair back and was fingering it apart.

"I don't think a man bun would work with your cheek bones, but what about just leaving it down? Oh, I know, what about a ponytail?" She never even gave me a chance to reply. A second later my hair was up higher than it had ever been. "That looks good," she said, while taking it down, "but let's see what it will look like with some gel."

I was starting to come to the realization that this was going to be a long day.

I tried zoning out as much as I could over the next several hours, as I was poked and prodded, until it was time to leave. At least the drive into town wasn't long. Jasper drove and I got to spread out in the back seat while the two of them talked to each other up front.

When we got out of the car I saw Carlisle's pull up and he, Esme, Emmett, and Rosalie piled out. Even with Rosalie glaring at me the entire time I didn't care. I was hoping to turn the night around and enjoy myself. But after the next Cullen car pulled up I started thinking that wasn't going to happen. I hated seeing Renesmee and her dog together. The way he touched her… it wasn't right. She was an angel and that mutt was pawing all over her, probably giving her flees.

I really wasn't in the mood to be around them now. Especially after I found out what their Christmas gift really was. I felt so stupid. I'd actually gone to Esme for help with it yesterday. All I had was the piece of paper that was in the gift box, so was completely confused when she took out her computer and started typing. _eHarmony_ wasn't a relaxation or music related present, like I thought; it was a dating service. I wanted to kill that stupid mutt, but in my anger smashed Esme's computer.

She looked confused, shocked, and horrified, but after I apologized and explained why I did what I did she said she understood. "Jacob should not have done that," she told me as she began picking up the broken computer pieces off the table. "Would you like me to have a word with him?"

"No need. I think I would like to handle this myself," I had replied, as I began making plans for my revenge, and cleaned up more computer pieces off the floor.

"Come on, Nahuel, you'll enjoy this. Let's find a good spot so we can see the fireworks," Edwards said, as he grabbed me by the shoulders, leading me quickly past his daughter and her dog, before I could say or do anything. While I still hadn't figured out exactly how I was going to get back at him, Edward must have known I was planning something.

We ended up setting ourselves down in the grass by the edge of the crowd, not wanting to "gather too much attention," Edward explained when I questioned why we weren't going to get closer. I still wasn't sure what we were supposed to be looking at. Alice said it was going to be a light show in the sky but it seemed like, because of where we were, our sight was going to be blocked by the tree line.

She assured me it would be fine. But then nothing happened. We sat and waited. And waited and sat. All the Cullens had a mate to pass the time with, to talk to, to listen to, to just spend the time with; but not me. An hour later the fire-works finally started. The show, as I came to understand it, consisted of music timed to the light explosions that were so high in the air that the trees didn't matter.

But for all the fun and fanfare, that Alice had proclaimed the evening festivities to be, I wasn't getting the same level of excitement she assumed I would have. It was boring. I was bored. There was nothing to do. Watching some lights twinkle in the sky was not my idea of excitement or enjoyment.

Once the show finally ended people all around us started counting for some reason, and backwards. I didn't know what was going on but out of the corner of my eye I saw the dog drag Renesmee off somewhere. Not caring what was going on around me, I decided to follow, this could be my chance. But a few seconds later I wished I'd stayed where I was. The scene I confronted was more revolting than I could have imagined. I wanted to gouge my own eyes out... or better yet, his.

Unfortunately now I could see why the filthy dog had dragged Renesmee away from everybody else - so that he could defile her where nobody would see. Disgusting mutt!

How could she let him treat her like that? Even when I had my whores, I would at least take them to a motel (most of the time). She deserved more than this. At the very least she should be worshipped in a bed; really she deserved a palace, not be mauled between a food cart and trash cans.

I wanted to go and rip her out of the beast's arms, but it look like she was enjoying herself, as repulsive as that sounded, so I left. When I returned to the Cullens the only reaction I got was an eye roll from Edward.

What is wrong with this family?


	28. Dying Dreams Resurrected

**The Jaguar Versus the Wolf**

**Chapter 28 - ****Dying Dreams Resurrected**

**Orbiting Satellites Book Two, Chapter 28 - ****Sunrise**** companion**

* * *

It started off innocent enough. There had to be some way to get back at the dog for that evil Christmas present he gave me. But a gift designed to set lonely people up with other lonely people got me thinking about my predicament. The more I thought about how I was going to be alone for all of eternity the more depressed I got. So much for my resolution to life the second 150 years of my life to the fullest.

Rolling over in bed, I tried tuning out the little pixie, as best I could. "Alice how many times do I need to tell you? I'm NOT interested in shopping, or having a fashion show to parade around in whatever new outfit you bought me, or whatever new fashion emergency you need to tell me about. I just want to sleep." Yikes! She was annoying.

"This has nothing to do with clothes Nahuel," she said while tugging on my arm. But I refused to budge. "Esme has enough to do, and it is not right that you just dumped all this work on her."

Huh?

"Nahuel, she's not from the Amazon. She grew up in Ohio in the beginning of the twentieth century. She doesn't know anything about these things," Alice rambled on, as she pointed toward the other side of the house. "Esme is worried sick that she is going to kill them. She knows how important they are to you, and she doesn't want to hurt you, or them. You need to help her."

"With what?"

"Your greenhouse" she said exasperated.

What was she talking about? I was sure Esme was going great. Deciding this wasn't worth my time to even respond to her, I faked snoring until she left in a huff.

For two days I remained in bed. If I wasn't so depressed I would have been enjoying my isolation. But it didn't matter. Sleeping day and night didn't take away my pain, or despair, or depression. It only prolonged it somewhat until I re-awoke and busied my thoughts with impending doom and/or eternal loneliness until I eventually lost consciousness again.

My isolation was short lived. Eventually (I had lost track of the day) maybe the fourth or fifth, possibly the seventh (I wasn't sure) Esme's voice woke me up. "Oh no, oh I think, oh... I don't think this is right."

Last time I had awakened I thought the door had been closed, blocking out all sound. Who had opened it?

"He's sleeping darling. You know Edward said how he's going through a lot right now. Just let's let him work thought things in his own way."

_Thank you Carlisle_, I thought to myself, while rolling over and attempting to go back to sleep. I doubted it would happen though since the door was still ajar and their voices continued to invade my slumber.

"But he's going to sleep through lunch, when was the last time he ate?"

"Hasn't he been eating the trays of food you bring him?" I heard Carlisle ask.

"He didn't yesterday," she told her mate. She was completely overreacting. Skipping a few meals wasn't going to kill me. When I lived on blood I only fed every week or two. I knew I needed to eat more regularly on a diet of human food, but felt I would be fine going another few days. "And look at his beautiful flowers," Esme continued. "I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. Last week they were wilting but I gave them more water and plant food. The temperature and sunlight is right where it's supposed to be, I think. But they're getting worse. If something is not done soon they're all going to die."

"They're just flowers, Esme. We'll buy more if you want."

"It's not what I want sweetheart," Esme replied. "They're Nahuel's flowers. He grew them because they remind him of home. He's already so upset over the loss of Nessie, think of what will happen if he loses these too." If only that were it. "I just can't let him get more depressed, I need to do something."

Hearing footsteps heading my way, I pulled the covers over my head before Esme reached the door. Thankfully she left without coming in and soon I drifted back to sleep.

It was dark the next time I woke. If I wasn't so hungry I probably would have gone back to sleep. Instead I begrudgingly got up and stumbled to the kitchen. Bosta! There was nothing to eat. All the food was still kept at the other house. Now that I was back living here, and not dating Renesmee, I would really have to talk to someone about stocking the kitchen in this house.

Checking all the cabinets I scrounged up a half empty box of crackers, an old candy bar, and a couple bananas that looked to be a few days past their prime, judging by the more brown than yellow spots on them. Good enough. There's no way I was going over to Renesmee's house.

Esme suddenly appeared, just as I finished the crackers. "Nahuel I thought I heard you."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you." I didn't think they would be able to hear me eating. The crackers were so stale they barely made a noise when I chewed, and if they closed their door… I knew what she and Carlisle did with their nights; they were mated Vampires after all. The last thing I wanted to do was interrupt them.

"Nonsense," she waved her hand, dismissing my apology. "I see you're finally hungry. I'll run to the market tomorrow and stock the kitchen here. But would you like me to run next door and get you something proper to eat for tonight?"

I wanted to say yes, this was not anywhere near what I was in the mood for, but I couldn't, so I didn't. "No thanks," I simply replied.

She didn't look like she believed me any more than I believed myself but she didn't push it and instead asked if she could talk to me about something important in the morning.

"If you must," I half-heartedly agreed, knowing she would probably wake me up before I was ready.

And I was right. The next morning I was once again woken up bright and early. Argh! Part of me wished she had dragged me over here earlier.

My greenhouse was in worse shape than Alice has led me to believe. The flowers from my homeland were beyond wilting; they were almost dead. "What the hell happened here? All you had to do was water them in the mornings and feed them once every two weeks, according to the schedule I left you. How did you screw it up?"

Bosta! I shouldn't have been so rude, and chosen my words more carefully, Esme was nothing but nice to me, but I was in shock.

My heart sank deeper and deeper, looking at the half dead remains of the last vestiges of my homeland.

My Aunt, who felt like she stopped being my family as soon as she found Roberto, and my last visit, all as much confirmed it; she was no longer the same woman who raised me. She'd been like a mother to me, but now I barely recognized her.

The one comfort I had, coming back here, was my flowers. Except it wasn't. I hadn't been in this room since I had returned, two weeks ago.

It was the beginning of January. When I left Renesmee, and this house, at the end of October my flowers were thriving. I returned just before Christmas and they seem to be doing just as well, but I no longer had found enjoyment and that meant that I stopped paying them regular visits, other than to water and feed them. Over the weeks I even stopped that, showing Esme exactly what to do instead. I periodically would go in to check on them, but not often, and the intervals which I did grew longer and longer. Yet everything seemed fine. Esme was following the directions I gave her perfectly; at least she had been, until two weeks ago.

How could things have gone so wrong, so fast?

After apologizing to Esme I called Carlisle. He was a doctor and though the patients weren't human they were alive, at least barely. I was going to need his help.

Together over the next several hours he helped me check the pH levels in the soil. They checked out all right so then we turned to the water in the kitchen, looking for traces of bacteria, viruses, contaminants, lead levels, and a host of other things he theorized could have done this. Nothing. The only thing left it could possibly be was the plant food. But I had made that myself, composting leftover food, lawn clippings, fallen leaves, wildflowers, and various other roughage. Esme assured me she had been deluding a spoonful of it in the water every two weeks like she was instructed.

Carlisle ran every test he knew of but found nothing. I could only draw one conclusion… sabotage. But who would do that?

My first thought was that it was another one of my father's games, but now instead of dead bodies he'd decided to kill my plants. No, this was beneath him. And there was no way he could get in here, not with all the Cullens.

My next suspect was the dog. Would he stoop to something like this? Based on his Christmas gift I knew the answer was yes.

This was it, the last straw. I growled as I made up my mind. The dog and I were going to have it out and only one of us was going to be walking away when it was through.

"Where are you going?" Carlisle called after me as I ran out the back door.

I ignored him, but was intercepted by Edward before I even got halfway to the garage.

"Nahuel think about what you are about to do," he said, as Carlisle appeared behind me.

"I'm done thinking. That mutt has ruined my life."

"No he hasn't. Jacob hasn't done anything to you, at least not intentionally."

"What have I done?" Speak of the devil. The dog had heard us and came out.

"Nahuel thinks you're trying to kill his plants," Edward told him.

The dog started laughing.

"It's not funny," I growled. "Why do you have to ruin everything in my life?"

"Don't blame me just because you're pathetic. Why would I want to kill some stupid plants?"

"I don't know. Why did you get me that subscription?"

He started laughing again. "Thought you could use it. I was trying to be nice," he snorted through his lie.

"I can get my own women!"

"But can you keep them… alive, I mean?" he snarled with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Jacob there is no need to be gruff," Edward scolded, yet it didn't escape my notice that he didn't also deny the dogs remark.

"Whatever," he rolled his eyes at Edward. It looked like they were having a staring contest, but I assumed were actually having a silent conversation based on Edward's almost non-existent head nods and shakes. Then the dog huffed and turned to me. "Sorry I hurt your feelings." His lip curled up at one end in a slight smirk. "Didn't realize you were so delicate. I'll try to be more sensitive in the future." "Happy?" he added, after turning back to Edward.

When he started walking back to the garage I screamed, "Get back here you filthy dog and face me!"

The dog didn't stop until Carlisle spoke, his words clearly shocking us both, "Perhaps we should just let both of them get it out of their systems."

"They could get hurt," Edward cautioned.

The dog snorted, but then came at me. Yes! Finally. I was going to end him.

Faintly I heard Carlisle mention something about stopping us if things got too out of hand, but I didn't intend on this lasting long enough for them to intervene.

As I assumed he would, the dog was in his hairier form before he even got to me. But I was ready. I learned a lot from our last encounter. Right before he pounced I jumped in the air, three times as high as him, flipping around midway and landed on the dog's back. He couldn't get to me here, and as much as he struggled, I was free to pummel him in the head as much as I pleased.

It looked like Edward was moving toward us. I'd wanted to give him more of a beating before ending the dog's life, but didn't want to get stopped before my goal was completed, so I wrapped my arms around the dog's neck and squeezed. Necks weren't exceptionally hard to break if you knew what you were doing… which I did.

But the dog did too and he flung himself onto his back, squishing me between his huge form and the ground. He stayed like that until I all but passed out. Then he was off of me, a few feet away crouched down and growling… waiting for me to get up.

"Are you two about done?" Huh? That was Renesmee's voice. How long had she been here?

I was still on the ground, weezing, but the dog had already returned to his human form and walked over to her.

"Oh, I think we are definitely done here." Stupid, smug idiot. "Ready to help me with that motor rebuild?" he asked her as they walked away.

Edward came over, offering me his hand, which I shoved away. I could get up on my own. "I trust only your pride was hurt."

"I'll survive."

"The two of you are going to have to figure out a way to get along. I know Jacob is not the easiest to get along with at times. Believe me, I've been where you are. And it was wrong of him to tease you like that with his choice of… gifts," he hesitantly said. "But you'll have to look elsewhere as to the cause of your flower issues."

He knew who was killing my plants? And had done nothing to stop them?

"She isn't trying to hurt you. In fact it's just the opposite," he told me. "Alice may not have gone about things in the right way, but I assure you her intentions are pure."

Alice?

She denied it, when I went to confront her, but the happy smirk, that appeared on her face, when I told her it would take me weeks to get the plants thriving again, confirmed everything Edward said. She, more than anyone, wanted to get to me out of bed; and it looked like she had done it. Now more than ever I understood where the sneaky little pixie got her nickname.

"Nahuel, there you are." Edward came into the greenhouse a week later to talk to me. I've been in here every day and my flowers were... not dying, but they still had a long way to go.

"Is there something I can help you with?"

"No, but I needed to inform you of a few things. It's about your father. All of our efforts, so far, have not turned up anything and it doesn't look like we can do anything else from the house. We're going to go out to try to search for him and your sisters. We'll be splitting up to cover ground faster, but we need you to remain here."

Myself? Alone? That just means that another dead girl will show up, probably the day after they leave.

"You won't be alone," he answered my thoughts, looking apologetic for some reason. "Jacob and Renesmee will be staying here with you."

"No! No way. I'm not staying here alone with those two."

"I'm sorry but someone needs to stay here and... look after you," he reluctantly informed me. "Carlisle and Esme are going to Italy to speak with the Volturi. Carlisle has the best relationship with them. Alice will be using her gift to search for your sisters in South America, with Jasper, like she did with you and your Aunt. I will be taking my wife up and down the East coast where the women were from. If Joham and your sisters were there once, they may return, and if they do I'd hear them," he said pointing to his own head, indicating his mind reading gift. "And I doubt you'd want to stay here with Rosalie and Emmett. You know what she thinks of you, you'd be in just as much danger with her as you would if we dropped you on Joham's doorstop," he added, attempting to throw some humor into the situation. I didn't find it funny. "I'm afraid that only leaves Renesmee and Jacob."

"Fine," I huffed. If they stayed in their house, and I in this one, I wouldn't have to see them.

"I'm afraid that won't be possible. We think it would be best if the three of you were all under the same roof. You could take Bella's and my room for the time being."

But if I ran into them… even if I mostly kept to the bedroom I would have to come out from time to time to eat… he may as well just leave me with Rosalie, because either way he would be returning to at least one dead body.

"Fine. If you really think the two of you confined to one house is too much then stay here. I'll talk to Jacob. It may not be as affective but I'll see about him patrolling around both houses in his wolf form."

Whatever. As long as I didn't have to see him.

The Cullens left the next day, but not before loading up all of the kitchens. At least I wouldn't starve.

I ended up throwing myself into the care of my greenhouse. While I wasn't sure exactly what Alice had done, or what Carlisle did to test the soil and water I'd watched. He'd explained where levels of different things were supposed to be and I was trying now, with my limited understanding to balance everything out. While I did lose a few of my babies most seemed to be doing better and better. The remaining plants were no longer wilted. Most were beginning to grow new leaves and some even had new flower buds.

"Hey jungle boy," I heard Rosalie's voice call as I was almost done watering the plants a few days later.

What was she doing back so soon? And why was she in this house?

I heard Emmett running in the house behind her. "Com'on babe, don't bother him. You promised you'd be good while Nessie and Jake went to the zoo. And I bet Jazz a thousand bucks that you wouldn't. Don't make me loose. Please," he pleaded to her.

"Guess this is your lucky day, Tarzan," she said as she left my greenhouse and plopped herself down on the couch in the living room, while Emmett turned on the television to a sporting game.

What is a Tarzan?

I didn't bother to ask though.

"So what was the actual bet? Is it an all or nothing kind of thing? What if I just rip off a finger or two?" I heard her ask him.

He didn't answer so maybe she wasn't serious. At least I hoped she wasn't.

I never thought I would actually be happy when Renesmee and her dog returned and told Rosalie and Emmett that they could go back to their house.

"Please, just let me get through the next couple of weeks, until the rest of the Cullens returned," I silently prayed to whatever god was willing to listen. I didn't believe in any but didn't think it could hurt.

My life was being threatened by Joham and my closest guardians were Rosalie and the dog. Bosta!

I kept to myself and didn't leave the house. Hell, I barely left the greenhouse.

* * *

**A.N. **I'm not too happy with the title for this chapter. Any idea for a better one?

Thanks for reading. Please review.


	29. No Answers, Yet

**The Jaguar Versus the Wolf**

**Chapter 29 - ****No Answers, Yet**

**Orbiting Satellites Book Two, Chapter 29 - ****Jake's 22nd Birthday ****companion**

* * *

"As far as I can tell Aro was being truthful when he told me that the Volturi had nothing to do with the bodies showing up at Nahuel's former residences," Carlisle explained.

He and Esme had returned less than an hour ago, yet everyone (minus Alice and Jasper, who had not yet returned) were already gathered around their living room coffee table, for other family meeting, to discuss what they had just discovered, or apparently, not discovered.

"They're not going to be coming after me now that they know about all of the bodies are they?" There little stunt, going to the Volturi in the first place, didn't seem to have served any purpose other than to put me back on their radar. I'd managed to live a century and a half without every coming in contact with any of them, and now in under a decade my name was at the center of one nefarious thing or another.

"No, you cleaned everything up," Carlisle assured me. "And you kept moving around enough that no connection was made by the humans and it didn't get picked up on the news cycles."

Did they not hear about the fire I started at one of the hotels? One of my aliases was broadcast all over the news.

"We heard about it," Edward told me. "But there were no pictures, videos, or witnesses."

"I believe it is a non issue, as far as the Volturi are concerned," Carlisle added, seemingly understanding what Edward and I were talking about even though I hadn't voiced it out loud.

"I should have been the one to go to Italy," Edward spoke up. "That way we could be one hundred percent certain… about everything."

"No way. They would have just found some excuse to keep us there." Everyone could see the concern in Bella's eyes as she spoke.

"I wouldn't have let them do anything to you," her husband tried to reassure her. "It would have been just Carlisle and I to go. You would have been safe here with Esme."

"Same difference," Bella replied. "They'd probably just send Carlisle back to deliver a message of some trumped up reason to keep you, which would force me to go there too. Aro desires your gift too much, he'll never let you out of his grasp again."

"He has before."

"Oh I can't believe that Aro would do anything like that. What happened in Forks with Renesmee was only brought about under extreme circumstances," Esme gasped. "Now that some time has passed I'm sure they've seen what a mistake it was."

The dog snorted in disgust.

"Well now that it's settled that they're not behind this, did they at least know anything about whether or not the bodies are being left my father... like I believe?" Let's get this meeting over with. I want to get back to my plants.

"They seemed as unaware of who is behind the bodies as they are the cause of them," Carlisle informed us.

"Well then I guess it's up to Alice and Jasper then," Emmett spoke for the first time.

"When are they supposed to be back?"

Edward was the one to answer his daughter, "They called yesterday to let us know that they were only coming up with dead ends, but there are a few more areas they wanted to try. It'll be at least another week or two."

"Oh no," Renesmee sighed. "They're going to miss your birthday next week Jake."

_Boo, hoo. Who cares_, I chuckled to myself.

Without another word I got up and walked the length of the house to my greenhouse.

The Volturi wouldn't be coming after me. The Cullens were protecting me against anything my father had planned. I was safe. There were only two things that I cared about now. My plants and getting my revenge on the dog.

The dog's days were numbered, but I had to bide my time, work around certain obstacles (Edward's mindreading). In the meantime, I'd come up with a new plant food mixture that I wanted to try. Most of them had recovered from Alice's murder attempt, but i think they could still look a little better.

* * *

All I needed was a little luck, just a little bit. All I needed was for the dog not to be in the garage for once. I knew that's where he normally was, when he wasn't at school, or in the house. It was Saturday so he wasn't in school right now. I needed to take a chance, even though I didn't want to go to their house. I needed to make sure he wasn't there. I couldn't risk him walking in on me; not in the middle of my plan.

I finally figured out a way to get back at him for my Christmas present. Edward had already heard some of my previous ideas and vetoed them before I even got started. Apparently he was keeping a closer eye on me after my unfinished fight with the dog. My plan wouldn't kill him; hopefully just drive him a little insane. I was just going to move some of the tools around in the garage. And then the next day I would move them again. And then again the next day. And the day after that. Not a lot, just enough so that they would never be in the same spot he left them. My plan was subtle, but I hoped the mental anguish that it would put him through... he put me through my own, so it seemed fitting.

"Hey Bella," I said as she spotted me trying to covertly see where the dog was. I must have looked strange peeping thought their living room window. "You wouldn't happen to know where your daughter and..."

"She and Jacob have gone out for the night. They should be back tomorrow," she told me before I even finished my question.

"Oh right, I forgot." I heard her mention something about it being his birthday. Perfect! That meant I had plenty of time.

"Is there something I can help you with?"

"I think I should be fine," I told her, then quickly jogged out to the garage.

For the first move I didn't want to do anything too drastic. I didn't want to make it too obvious. Just enough to get him slightly rattled. Finding what I assumed to be his toolbox, I took a couple of them out, and randomly placed them around the garage. Then I saw a tire leaning against the northern wall and moved it to the opposite one.

The next day when they returned I watched and waited. He seems to be in an especially good mood for some reason. This would be great! Ruining his good mood would make my revenge that much sweeter. But it's not like I stuck around to watch, going into the garage now would be strange, since I didn't need to borrow a car for anything and with Joham still out there I really didn't leave the house for anything.

No matter.

Conveniently I could see the garage from my greenhouse so I knew when he left. He didn't look as upset as I thought he would; but that's alright, it was only the first day.

I waited a few hours after he and Renesmee had gone back into the house and the light went off in their bedroom. I assumed they'd gone to sleep and it would be safe for me to sneak back into the garage and move a few more items.

I kept it up for a couple weeks but, judging by his non-reaction, I don't think he even noticed.

Something very strange was going on. Renesmee and the dog were overly happy, even Rosalie seemed to be in a better mood, and Edward... I have no idea what was wrong with him, he seemed... annoyed. Halfheartedly I wondered what happened.

Perhaps I just wasn't being dramatic enough. Maybe the dog wasn't as neat as I thought he was and having a few things moved around here and there, and not put back exactly where they were supposed to be, was normal. I'd have to make a bigger mess.

That night I once again snuck out to the garage and started dumping tools and car parts out of containers, and just to make sure he got the message I flipped a few things over.

"Don't you think you're taking this a little too far?" Bosta! It was Edward. "I haven't said anything to Jacob. I let you have your fun, hoping you'd get it out of your system, but you're making a racket out here. It's not just his things you've damaged," Edward stopped and picked up something off of the ground. "This is now broken," he said holding up… I don't know what it was. It was metal, and shiny, and clearly broken, like he said.

"I'm not going to stop. Not until the dog feels like I did."

"Jacob is aware of what you've been doing out here."

"What?" How? I had been so careful.

"A wolf's sense of smell is just as good as our own."

He smelled me in the garage? My scent must have been on every tool I touched. _ He's known the entire time? _

Edward nodded.

_And what? He's just been humoring me. _

"No," Edward no longer held my gaze but looked to the ground. He didn't want me to know something.

"He doesn't even care?" I guessed.

The slight wince Edward gave confirmed it. "You have to understand, Nahuel," he hesitantly told me, "Jacob's priorities don't exactly include you. His world revolves around Nessie."

"Yeah, I know all about his imprinting imperative."

"Then you know that the only way to truly upset him is through my daughter, and I trust you will NOT be doing that," he growled a threat. But he didn't need to.

Even after everything Renesmee had put me though I would never hurt her. I nodded, went back to my bedroom.

I needed to think.

No, I needed to make some changes.

* * *

**A.N. **There's a lot that is referred to in this chapter that happened in Orbiting Satellites BK2. I tried hinting at it, for those who have not read it, but didn't want to give too much away. When i wrote this i was trying to be conscious of the fact that not everyone will have read the companion book, and hopefully it's not too confusing. If it is let me know (or read the other story)

**A. N. 2** I know, I know... Nahuels pathetic, but that's just how i see him. I love to hate him. How about you?

Please review and thanks for reading.


	30. Alice and Jasper Return

**The Jaguar Versus the Wolf**

**Chapter 30 - ****Alice and Jasper Return **

**Orbiting Satellites Book Two, Chapter 30 - ****Answers Found**** companion**

* * *

"Those are looking lovely Nahuel," Esme said from the doorway of my greenhouse.

"Just giving them a little pruning. These ones have grown so big I need to cut them back or they might start to choke the others around them. They're already depriving these ones," I pointed to some wilted babies hiding down the bottom, "of much needed sunlight." It had been over a month since I retook over the care of my flowers.

"I don't know how you do it," she told me. It was easy. Since Alice was still in the Amazon, with Jasper, she wasn't around to poison them and with a little love and care they had made a dramatic recovery. The two of them were the only ones that still hadn't returned. Hopefully that meant they were closing in on Joham. "They're amazing," she added.

What was she talking about? Her garden outside was twice as good as my little corner of the house. And everything in here was temperature controlled. Outside her roses were open to the elements, at the mercy of the cold, wind, predators, snow, drowning, drought, weeds, hell they could die from too much sun. "These are nothing compared to yours. Are you going out," I asked, noticing the purse in her hand.

"Just for a little while. I'm meeting some suppliers. The lawn chairs out back are looking a little worn. I was thinking of redoing them. I should be back in time to make you something for lunch, but if I'm not…"

"I'm sure I can handle it," I assured her.

Once she left I went back to my pruning, but wasn't more than an hour in when the front door flew open. Jasper and Alice ran in. There was a jumble of noises, as the two of them rearranged the living room furniture, dug out the dining room table, and sat down on chairs that were equally as quickly brought in by Carlisle, Edward, Bella, Emmett and Rosalie. Carlisle gestured to an empty chair for me and just as I sat down Renesmee and her dog ran in. What was going on?

"Should we wait for Esme?" Bella asked no one in particular.

She was the only one not here, but no one seemed to know where she was, until I spoke up, passing along what she had told me, which Alice confirmed after a vision check, adding "She won't be back until dark. Her source got in some new fabric and now she's thinking of redoing the couches in Bella and Edward's house, and the chairs in Carlisle's office, and the stool for Rosalie's vanity, and the…"

"I think we get it," Emmett cut her off.

"I'll fill her in when she comes home tonight," Alice added, looking a little sad that she didn't get to finish.

"So what's this news?" Rose asked. "What have Nahuel and the rest of his screwed up family done now to endanger our lives?" Argh, she still didn't like me. Why? I thought before it was to keep me away from Renesmee, but now we weren't together and never would be, so what was her problem?

"Yeah, when do we get to go find Joham and kick his butt?" Emmett for some reason was excited about that idea. I guess it wasn't that odd… for him at least. He seemed to love fighting.

"I don't think that will be needed," Jasper quickly shut him down.

"After searching for weeks, we finally came across Jennifer's scent and followed it until we found her and Maysun," Alice told us.

"Were Serena and Joham with them?" If they were it might mean my father wasn't behind the bodies. I know it was slim, but I really didn't like thinking my father was doing this to me. And Serena already told me it wasn't him.

"No," Alice said. "Jennifer and Maysun haven't heard from them in over a month. Last time Joham called they were still here. Or at least they were up until a little while ago."

"Here?!" a lot of us growled. Edward had clearly already heard it in his head before Alice spoke and didn't react, but Nessie and Carlisle gasped.

Everyone started talking over each other, asking question after question, all at once. People wanted to know why they were here, if they know if my family was behind the bodies, and if they were why the bodies stopped showing up, among other things. I wanted to know only one thing – why?

Jasper got everyone's attention, when he yelled "Joham was behind the bodies!" NO! That meant he was after me for some reason. I'd let my guard down, since staying with the Cullens, but that was a mistake. He was probably still around, just biding his time until he got me alone. I'd have to be more careful from now on.

Edward whispered to me, "I think you're going to want to pay attention to what Jasper says next."

"It wasn't easy," Jasper quietly said to me, "but with a little... persuasion I got Maysun to tell me the truth. Jennifer knew nothing about it." That was something at least. Maysun knowing wasn't that big of a surprise, but if Jennifer had known and didn't tell me I would have completely lost faith in everything I once believed.

"Joham was upset to learn of Nahuel's change in diet," Jasper then explained to everyone. "He was _dropping off_ the women's bodies in a misguided effort to try and get him to revert back to human blood. He hoped that just the mere smell of blood on a fresh young body would prompt Nahuel to relapse back to his true self."

That's why he was doing it? He wasn't trying to get the Volturi to come after me? He didn't want me dead for sending the Volturi after him, resulting in them preventing him from fathering anymore hybrids?

"What about the ones Carlisle found at the hospital?" Bella then asked, but neither of my sisters knew anything about them.

The more I thought about it the more I realized just how different those bodies were from the ones left for me. The biggest difference being that the hospital bodies had been fed from. The ones in my motel rooms hadn't been.

"Also she doesn't seem too happy about it, but Jennifer seems to be under the impression that they will be returning home soon," Alice added.

"Not that I would want to see him, but why would Joham not just come talk to me?"

"And why would he leave?" Emmett added.

"Would that have worked? Really?" Edward asked. "Nahuel, you changed your diet for a reason. For Renesmee. Would anything he said to you have convinced you to change back?"

_No_, I shook my head.

"He must have figured that out and could be why he left. On the other hand since you're no longer with Renesmee he may have assumed, just as we had, that you'd give up your new diet eventually on your own."

"How can you be sure of either thing?" Renesmee asked her father.

"I'm not." Edward said to her. "It may have just been that Rosalie and Emmett completely ignored the plan and came back too soon, but when we left you and Jake here with Nahuel alone, Joham never took the bait and came after Nahuel, or dumped another body."

WHAT! "You used me as bait, assuming… hoping, Joham would attack me?"

"Not exactly," Carlisle tried to calm me down. "We thought if he was still in the area that your father would have made some sort of move. We assumed that Joham would not see you and Renesmee as a threat to him." This was NOT making me feel better. In fact it made me feel a lot worse. "But I assure you, you were never in any danger. Joham would have no knowledge of the Wolves, ignoring a stray animal in the forest, which we used to our advantage. Jacob was constantly patrolling the area. And while Alice and Jasper, Edward and Bella, and Esme and I really were searching where we said we were, Emmett and Rosalie were also keeping an eye on you, never ventured too far from the vicinity. I apologize for the deception, but we only kept the truth from you in an attempt to ease some of your worry."

"So since he didn't try to kill, or pin another murder on me, you concluded that he gave up and left?" I huffed.

"Essentially. And Maysun's account seems to confirm it." Edward told me.

"So it's over?" That was hard to believe. "I'm safe?" No way. But if it were true, if they were right I wouldn't be trapped in this house anymore. I wouldn't be stuck living with the Cullens. Not that they were that bad, but I really hated Rosalie and the dog, and things were just awkward between me and Renesmee, no matter how civilized we tried to be with each other. And while they were lovely and nice to me, the materialism of Alice and even Esme was so trivial and annoying at times it was hard to put up with. Then there was Edward's music and superiority complex that I…

"Do you really think that that's it?" Renesmee asked, breaking me out of my thoughts. "That it could be that easy?" She didn't seem to believe them any more than I did.

"Perhaps. It's still only a theory, but if no new bodies show up, or anything else happens, all we can do for now is wait and see," Jasper told everyone.

"I found Jennifer and Maysun because they were relatively stationary," Alice then explained, "just like when I originally located Nahuel and Huilen. Joham and Serena must be constantly moving around because I cannot get a fix on their _blank spot_."

"Alright, well for the immediate future I suggest we carry on as usual," Carlisle told us. "Nahuel, you should still keep to the house, just in case. No need to put yourself in danger if we are wrong." My heart sank. Apparently I wasn't getting out of here. He started talking about school or something, but I stopped listening. I needed to get back to my flowers. Apparently they were as close as I was going to get to my Jungle home for a while.


	31. Second Life

**The Jaguar Versus the Wolf**

**Chapter 31 – Second Life**

**Orbiting Satellites Book Two, Chapter 31 - ****Renée's Call ****companion**

* * *

Hmmm, I realized some things after Alice and Jasper told me about my father: the Rainforest was my home and Jennifer was my family. I didn't want him corrupting her like he did our two older sisters. When all of this was over I would need to seek her out and get her away from them, if the Cullens didn't take drastic action first.

I also realized I needed to start doing something with my life. I spent the first one hundred and fifty years of my existence feeding and screwing. I wanted to do something more substantial with the next few centuries, however many I may have.

The Cullen's had their various activities. Carlisle was the most altruistic, I guess you could say, him being a doctor and was doing something worthwhile with his eternal existence. The others were much less so. His mate had her decorating, and Alice I saw was just as vapid in her fashion obsessions. Her mate, Jasper's love of all things civil war related was understandable, since that's when he became immortal, but the fact that he hadn't moved on was somewhat strange; yet not as bad as Emmett's obsession with sports, betting, and video games. And his wife's fixation with cars and speed wasn't much better. Of course none of them were as bad as Edward's dreadful love of himself, and his music. And then Bella… I wasn't really sure what she did. She seemed to read a lot, but couldn't really figure out what she was passionate about, besides Edward and Renesmee I guess. Renesmee... No, I wasn't even going to go there.

While their pursuits might be superficial, at least they did something to occupy their time and make eternity more enjoyable. I think I needed something as well. But what?

As much of an enjoyment as taking care of my flowers was I needed something more.

Human food was something I could possibly see myself getting into. I was enjoying many of the unique flavors Esme and Bella cooked for me. If at some point I no longer lived with the Cullens it might be nice to be able to prepare a variety of things for myself.

Going into the kitchen and perusing my options I located some vegetables and raw meat of some sort then, after more searching, a knife, and I started chopping. I never really paid attention when Esme made me anything to eat in the past but it didn't seem too hard. I knew what the end product was supposed to look like. Surely cutting ingredients into smaller pieces than its original form and heating it up wouldn't be that difficult.

"Nahuel, you should have called me," Esme said, appearing next to me. "You know I'd be happy to make you something if you were hungry."

"No need." I told her as I continued to chop, while telling her about my new life plan.

"Oh!" she smiled, but could tell she was worried. "Let's just put this under those peppers to protect the counter," Esme said as she slipped a wooden slab under the food.

Huh? Oh right. I guess the knife was slicing into the countertop a little.

"You should try what we did, when we first cooked for Bella, when she was still human. Carlisle, Edward, and I found it immensely helpful to watch the _Cooking Channel_." She dashed away for a second and returned holding a small computer screen. "Here, I'm subscribing to _America's Test Kitchen_," she said while her fingers flittered over the surface. "It might be easier for you to follow them. They give step by step, exact directions, on how to prepare dishes. You can watch them on this tablet while you cook." She seemed so pleased with herself I couldn't say no.

As I moved on to cutting the meat, that Esme told me was chicken, she showed me a photograph. "I doubt she will show up here, but if you happen to see this women do not harm her in any way. Just notify any of us immediately. Understand?"

I nodded. "Is she a threat?" I asked. I couldn't see how. The woman was clearly human.

"No. Her name is Renée. She's Bella's mother. She doesn't know Bella is now Immortal, or anything about Vampires, for that matter. If she shows up and you talk to her be polite but make sure you deny any knowledge of Bella and Edward. In fact, don't tell her you know any of us."

It seemed a strange request but I agreed.

She then left on some design emergency, or something.

Wait! How do I get the video to go on this thing? Argh, I hated modern technology. Where is the…? Oh, I wasn't sure what I pressed, but the video started playing.

I don't know how Esme knew but the people on the screen started making the same thing I was trying to.

It seemed she was right, the instructions they gave were straightforward. But it was also a little unnerving. All of the measuring, and separating, and combining, and temperature controls, heat fluctuations, emulsifiers, leavening agents, and a host of other things... while I've never been in one of my father's laboratories the parallels were just a little too much.

I had to stop.

I don't think cooking was for me.

I would need something else to occupy my eternity.

* * *

**A.N. **Super short chapter I know, but it was only little more than a phone call in the other story, so I couldn't have much more going on with Nahuel.


	32. Base Ball?

**The Jaguar Versus the Wolf**

**Chapter 32 – Base Ball?**

**Orbiting Satellites Book Two, Chapter 32 - ****False security ****companion**

* * *

It's been a month since I tried my hand at cooking and still hadn't found anything else to do. Sure taking my advanced age into consideration, compared to a human's lifespan, percentage wise one month wouldn't be that long; but thirty days of sitting around this house not doing anything was beyond boring.

Okay so it wasn't like I was not doing anything. I didn't want to fall back into my previous depression and sleep the days away. I decided that maybe the Cullen's were onto something with their various activities and decided to try my hand at each of them.

It didn't go well.

Surprisingly Bella's reading hobby came the closest to not making me want to gouge my eyes out.

She had been nice enough to suggest some books to read and while I found the ones she suggested abhorrent others in the three houses various collections held slightly more interest for me.

"I thought Rose was the only one who read those trashy romance novels," Emmett said when he came into the library just as I was getting to the good part. "What's the matter? Life's a little uninteresting now that you can't kill anybody? Or are you just running out of ideas to keep your hand entertained."

Huh? What was he talking about? And why did he think that was so funny?

I slammed the book shut, and got right in his face. "Is there something I can help you with?"

He rolled his eyes, obviously not seeing me as a threat. Not that I was one, but still…

"Relax, Alice says there's gonna be a thunderstorm later and I was just going around and rounding up players, but I can see you'll be busy," he chuckled. "Just kidding, we're leaving around nine if you're coming."

"I don't think…"

"Come on," he whined. "Joham's still out there somewhere. If you don't come then someone's gonna get stuck here _protecting_ you."

"Fine," I huffed.

"Sweet, off babysitting duty;" he chuckled under his breath. I didn't understand what was so funny but he took off before I could ask.

"So how do you play this game?" I asked no one in particular when everyone got out of their various vehicles at the empty field.

It was pretty large. We'd driven for over an hour to get to it. Whatever we were going to be doing it seemed we needed a wide open space. There were few small hills, now and then, but for a state as mountainous as New Hampshire, finding a space as flat as this was pretty remarkable. Looking towards my feet I saw there were stubs of crops, most likely corn, poking out of the ground. It was April and these were old, left over from last year's yield. Either nothing new had been planted or it was too early for them to start springing up this year.

Almost everyone gave me a strange look like I was stupid for not knowing how the game worked, but why would I? It's not like my Aunt and I played it in the middle of the rainforest. Carlisle was nice enough to fill me in on the basic details. "It's pretty straightforward. I'm sure you'll pick it up as we go," he added when he finished, and tossed a small white ball to me. I caught it, looked at it, noticing the strange red stitching, and tossed it back. "Why don't you take left field to start."

Left field?

"Over there," Edward gestured to the opposite end of the clearing, with his head.

Just as I feared the game was as boring as I first thought.

The other team was up at bat first. Alice pitched. Jasper immediately hit the ball on his first try, which Edward, as fast as her ran was unable to catch. He threw it to Esme, who was doubling as both teams catcher and umpire, but Jasper managed to score a home running. Then the dog was up. Ha! He swung at the ball but it sailed passed him and landed in Esme's hand. It did the same thing two more times and he was kicked out for now. Rose hit her ball on the third try but it went to the other side of the field by Emmett who threw it to Edward. He wasn't fast enough though and she managed to safely get to the middle base. This went on for a while. None of the hit balls came anywhere near me. Left field seemed to be the position you put players in that only needed to stand there and not do anything.

Finally it was our teams turn to hit the ball. Edward, Bella, Alice, and Emmett all managed to hit the ball, Edward more than once, but when I was up at bat it seemed every time I swung at the ball I always managed to be a fraction of a second too late. I thought, at first, it was just because I was a hybrid and they all full vampires - naturally faster and stronger than me, but when Renesmee and the dog managed to connect their bats with the ball on their next turns that theory seemed to fly out the window.

In the end, after many, many hours, Jasper, Carlisle, Rose, Renesmee, and the dog's team lost 14 to our teams 17. Finally we could go home.

"You did a wonderful job for your first time," Esme graciously told me once the nine exasperatingly long innings were up.

"Yeah, for a beginner," Emmett scowled, while giving a wad of cash to Jasper. "You played better than I thought you would."

How did I play better than he thought? I didn't score a single run or catch a single ball. I didn't do anything. The only thing I did manage to do was stay out of everybody's way.

"That's what he means," Edward quietly told me, with a hint of a smirk. "He thought you would have kept our team from winning."

While I'd ridden in the car with Emmett, Jasper, Carlisle, and Esme to the field, on the way back I decided to go with Bella and Edward. I'd seen Renesmee and the dog piling into Rosalie's car with Alice. This seemed safer judging by the looks Emmett was giving me.

"What was it you were doing in the outfield," Bella asked me out of the blue as we drove.

"What do you mean?"

"He was composing," Edward answered for me.

"That wasn't what I was doing," I corrected him. "I was just bored and needed something to take my mind off of things." It was something I would do back in the rainforest when there wasn't a lot going on. There's always noise in the jungle - birds singing, insects chirping; the forest was always making music. I just had to pick through it and clear away all of the clutter to be able to sing along in my head. During the game with all of the sounds of the raindrops, thunder and lightning, stomping on the ground, and the swishing of the bat through the air, I didn't have anything else to do when it wasn't my turn at bat, so my mind tended to wander and natures songs broke through.

"I really liked them," Edward said. "You're more musical than I realized. I know you've been searching for a purpose in life. Perhaps song writing could be it."

"It's not that impressive. It's just something I do." I don't even think about it.

"Well then, that makes it even more impressive. You have quite an amazing gift Nahuel," he replied to my thoughts.

"It's not a gift. What you're doing right now," _intruding into my mind,_ "is a," _rather annoying,_ "_gift_." That worked as well as I hoped and it put an end to this ridiculous conversation, sitting in silence for the remainder of the drive.

But maybe it wasn't so ridiculous after all. Not that I'd admit it to him of course, but once we were back home and I was left staring at the ceiling above my bed with nothing to do I started thinking about it and maybe he had a point.


	33. Baskets

**The Jaguar Versus the Wolf**

**Chapter 33 – Baskets**

**Orbiting Satellites Book Two, Chapter 33 - ****Negative after Negative**** companion**

* * *

You have got to be kidding me. The dog was sterile!

I wanted to be angry that Renesmee had chosen that infertile dog over me, (I had no doubt would be able to easily impregnate her) but it was too hilarious. I couldn't stop laughing. He and Renesmee had been humping for months with nothing to show for it. Now as a last-ditch effort her parents had sent them away, hoping a change in scenery would do something to encourage her fertility.

A small part of me wondered if I had misheard my sister and gotten her fertility timeline wrong. Maybe hybrids could only get pregnant until they were six years old, and not seven. Who knows, maybe Joham screwed it up, not me. I was beyond caring at this point about those two, I had my own problems.

I didn't think a future career as a composer was going to happen.

Music wasn't something I had ever intentionally tried to create before. It was just something that was always around that I would listen to, whether other people recognized it as a song or not. When Edward suggested I try it as something to do it was an interesting idea at first, but the more I tried, the less it seemed to be something that was going to happen. He offered to help, to write down the notes for me as I hummed them.

He showed me the music sheets he would use when learning a new song, or writing one. It has lots of lines, and was covered in these funny little dots and squiggles. It didn't really mean anything to me until he explained it a few times and I guess it made sense. Dots for high notes went up, ones for low notes were down, but beyond that...

But there was no music in my head for him to write down. It wasn't mine, it was something that was just all around me that I listened to. I wasn't the one who made it.

"What _do_ you make?" Edward then asked me.

Before I came here I was making things all the time - clothes, belts, jewelry, baskets with my Aunt. In the jungle we had to make everything.

"Was there any of those that you particularly enjoyed making?"

That was an interesting question. I liked the results of some of my efforts, but the process of actually making something... I wasn't sure. I'd never really thought about it.

"Think about it," he suggested before taking off to go to class.

I did more than just think about it. I started making things and some of the things I made, for the first time ever, I started paying attention to not just _what_ I made, but _how_ I made it. For the first time ever I asked myself not only if I enjoyed making it, but if I intentionally wanted to make it again. And if I did would I want to make it over, and over, and over again. For some things the answer was no!

I didn't enjoy sewing clothes like Alice did. When I was in the rainforest and I needed a new pair of pants I would make a new pair of pants, but I didn't have a stack of extra ones lying around, just in case. And I certainly didn't have closet, after closet, after closet filled up with "designer couture ensembles" to wear a different outfit every day of the next decade.

"So it's true," Alice said as she happily skipped up to me a few days later.

I was in the woods preparing some reeds to weave into baskets. I needed something after abandoning my short lived fashion excursion. It was a long process. Reeds had to be harvested and dried; some sliced thin, others kept wider and to different thicknesses. I wanted the baskets to have a certain looked to them so I put a lot of effort into finding materials of certain colors and shades, just to add a little bit of dimension and flare to the baskets. Not that it was my design. I was just going to recreate ones that I'd seen my Aunt make. Maybe once I got going and got a little bit more confident I'd branch out and create some of my own.

"What's true?" I asked her

"That you've found something to do," she said as her eyes swept over the dozens of piles of reeds I had prepared.

"I'm not sure yet, but the process is very relaxing." Once I get to the actual basket weaving I'm not sure if I'll still be as enthusiastic.

"Well, make sure you save one for me, I already have the perfect place for it in mind." She turned to go but it looked like she must have remembered something and turned back around. "Oh and I'm supposed to remind you that Joham could still be out here, and if you're going to do this, please say closer to the house for your own protection."

"Of course," I said as I started gathering a few of the bundles in my arms to bring closer to the house. Not wanting to prematurely bend any of the reeds I needed to be gentle and would have to make several trips.

I'd thought I only had to be within Edward's three mile range, and this distance wouldn't have been an issue, but was also comforted at the same time knowing that they were looking out for me.

* * *

**A.N.** Sorry I wasn't able to post this chapter yesterday. (And that it's so short) But to make up for it I'm going to also post Chapter 34, and possibly 35.


	34. Accessories

**The Jaguar Versus the Wolf**

**Chapter 34 – Accessories**

**Orbiting Satellites Book Two, Chapter 34 - Don't Make Us Go Home companion**

* * *

"And our next model, Bella, is wearing this beautiful, handmade, one-of-a-kind leather belt, accessorized with local river rocks... Bella come on," Alice whined, "you promised. Turn around and show everybody the belt."

"Do I really have to do this?" she whined back.

Alice was making everyone in the family do a sort of fashion show for each other, showing off the things I'd been making - belts, scarves, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, things like that.

Rosalie had gone first. She loved everybody looking at her, no surprise there, and Alice could barely get her to get off of the makeshift stage she had set up in Bella and Edward's living room. Emmett had looked like he was equally enjoying himself although I think he thought it was more hilarious than anything. The rest of them were going along with it, but Bella seems to be the most miserable out of the group. At least I, as the creator of the items, wasn't going to be forced to participate; only having to look on from the sidelines. "Perks of the designer," I told Alice, putting my foot down when she tried to get me to join in the embarrassment. While I was fine laughing at them, them laughing at me was a different matter entirely

Jasper was up next and was spinning around, showing off the wrist cuffs I had made when his phone started ringing.

"Hey I thought I asked everybody to silence those," Alice complained. This whole fashion show was her idea, yet she didn't seem to be enjoying it very much.

The phone call turned out to be from the credit card company. There was some unusual activity on one of the Cullen's cards and they were calling with a possible fraud alert.

Jasper got out his computer and then a minute later all hell seemed to break loose in the house. Turns out it had something to do with the card that was in the dog's name. Someone (they didn't seem to think it was him) but someone had charged thousands of dollars to it at a bar in Rio.

"I thought they were on a deserted island?" I hadn't asked anyone in particular but Esme told me that they were supposed to go directly to Isle Esme, while Edward frantically whipped out his phone and started dialing.

No one was picking up, so he called again, and again, and again.

"It could be nothing. Most likely someone just swiped his wallet."

"Not helping Emmett," Bella scowled to him.

"How likely do you think it is that a human was able to steal a wolf's wallet? Not with his heightened senses, and when he's with Nessie… I don't see it being a possibility," Jasper shook his head.

"So you think it's more likely that the two of them went on some sort of drinking binge?" Alice questioned.

"That's crazy. Neither of them drink."

"There's a first time for everything."

"There's no way the two of them could drink that much," Carlisle informed them.

Edward had been continuing to call throughout all of this, and it looked like he finally got through. He seemed relieved at first but then grew angrier the longer he stayed on the phone.

Renesmee hadn't been drinking, but the dog had. It was either some very expensive spirits or a lethal (for humans) amount of inexpensive alcohol. Or a combination of the two. Either way it didn't look good for him when he eventually woke up. Apparently he was now passed out in their hotel room. From what I could make out over Edwards shouts they'd been partying it up in Rio and hadn't even stepped foot on the island yet.

This was getting better, and better... not that I was bitter or anything, but ...okay I was bitter.

Why don't you go home Nahuel," Edward seethed at me after he got off the phone with his daughter. "It's late and you could probably use some sleep."

I knew he was really just concerned for Renesmee and was taking it out on me, but deciding it was probably in my best interest to do what he suggested. It was late and I was tired anyway.

* * *

A.N. I just posted Chapter 33, and Now here is Chapter 34. Both are really ust fillers until the big finish at the end - if you read Sunrise or Orbiting Satellites Book 2 you know what I'm talking about, but i don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't, so that's all i can say.

But events in Chapter 36, which doesn't come up again until Orbiting Satellites Book 3, gives some sort of behind the scenes info and is worth reading, just for that. It was so much fun to write. I can't wait till you read it.


	35. What To Do Now?

**The Jaguar Versus the Wolf**

**Chapter 35 - What To Do Now?**

**Orbiting Satellites Book Two, Chapter 35 - Trouble on Isle Esme companion**

* * *

Looking around my bedroom I felt a vast overwhelming sense of accomplishment. There were piles of belts, stacks of bracelets and wrist cuffs, and bowls full of earrings. Hanging on every knob I could find held a clump of necklaces. The chairs were piled high with folded scarves. I had made them all and enjoyed every minute of it. Finally I think I'd found a purpose in life, something to keep me entertained.

I had a few more ideas and I wanted to do them all and many more. The designs were just leaping into my head and I needed to get them out. But I was out of materials.

"Esme," I called. Hopefully she was home. Though he hadn't made even a single appearance the Cullens were still worried about Joham, so was I, and they didn't want me going out alone; so as pathetic as it sounded, I needed a chaperone.

Esme was home but had a phone call with some suppliers scheduled that she needed to take and wouldn't be able to accompany me at the moment. She did mention that Rosalie was available but it seemed safer to decline.

"Why don't you start sketching out your ideas," she's suggested, "until you're able to get some more materials. That way you can refine things and when you do get to make them they will be clear in your head and maybe you can be a little bit more… selective," she said looking around my cramped room.

Looking around I realized I had gone a little overboard. What was I going to do with all of this stuff now that I had made it? I didn't have a clue.

"Esme," I asked, "do you have any ideas of what I should do with all of this?" I already gifted each of the Cullens some of the items I'd made and the room was still packed. Not just this room, I know there were baskets filled with more of my jewelry and accessories randomly throughout the house.

"What would you think about selling them?" she asked me.

That sounded like an interesting idea. I already had sold some of the baskets I made with my Aunt, in the rainforest, when I first switched over to only human food, so I knew people liked what I had made. But I had always thought of that as a one-time thing, done out of necessity.

How would I even go about something like that? New Hampshire wasn't like the villages that bordered the rainforest. I couldn't go to one of the local bazaars, lay out a blanket, put my baskets on it, and wait for people to come buy them. Humans around here bought things in stores. I didn't have a store.

"If you're serious," Esme told me, "I could find some time tonight to photograph them while you sleep. Tomorrow morning we could upload them together. You'll just need to tell me what to type for the descriptions, and a title of the objects or any names if you've given them that, and the prices."

I didn't have a clue what she was talking about. Upload? Descriptions? Names? "Huh?"

"There are lots of places on the internet you can put your products on to sell them, Etsy for one," she informed me. But the more she talked the more I hated the idea.

I wanted to back up and back out of this altogether. Maybe I'll have to find something else to do with my existence. I didn't want to have anything to do with those vile, computer, internet things.

"All right," she acquiesced, seeing my reaction. "How about a farmers market then?"

Farmers Market? I didn't know what that was either, but it sounded better, more my style, just by the name of it.

"It's a weekly, or monthly, event that's held in certain towns where artists, craftspeople, and small local farmers set up tents and booths to sell their goods directly to customers."

That sounded perfect.

Esme did a little research and found out that there was one about twenty miles from us in a little over two weeks. Esme seemed to think there would be a lot to do to be ready in time.

All participants were supposed to have signed up months in advanced, mid-August was prime farmers market time apparently, but Esme somehow managed to get me in. I figured she paid someone off, but I didn't ask.

"Alice," she called a few days later when we were discussing exactly what my booth was going to look like. When Alice arrived the little pixie already knew what we were doing. There weren't very many secrets in this family. "I was wondering what the weather will be like that day?" The Farmers Market was held on Thursday's, Summer, Spring, and Fall, weather permitting. It was too cold around here for the humans to be outside with only an open tent to protect them against the elements in the wintertime.

"83 degrees and sunny," she told us.

Esme looked worried. "This will present a challenge." Of course. I needed my _chaperones_. Argh. "I don't suppose you'd want Nessie and Jacob to accompany you?" She looked doubtful even as she said it, knowing I would not.

"Esme you can still go with him, like you planned," Alice told us. "You'll just have to stay in the car. "Use Carlisle's. The tinted windows will keep you concealed."

"I couldn't ask you to do that. Six hours cooped up in there, that wouldn't be fair. There'll be another one in a few weeks. I can wait." It was a disappointment but I'd get over it.

"Nonsense. I'll bring my laptop and get some work done. And there's a new sofa design I've been putting off. This will give me the perfect opportunity to do it."

When had Esme ever put something off? Clearly she was lying, but it was sweet of her, so I didn't object.

"If you even get a whiff of Joham or any of your sisters, the car will be positioned right behind the tent. You'll be fine." Alice tried to assure me, but it would have been more convincing if she could see me.

* * *

**A.N.** Not the most exciting chapter, i know. But i promise the next one will be. I'm actually really excited about it.

Thanks for reading and please review.


	36. Business is Good

**The Jaguar Versus the Wolf**

**Chapter 36 - Business is Good**

**Orbiting Satellites Book Two, Chapter 36 - Surprising Developments companion**

* * *

Everything was all set up. It was fairly early in the morning so Esme was able to help me get everything ready at my very first Farmers Market, before the sun came up; not that she needed to, it wasn't that difficult. But it meant less time cooped up in the car for her.

We'd purchased a white 10' by 10' pop up tent that the organizers insisted all booths have. In it fit three tables that I place my items on. Alice had suggested I put some of the items in my baskets, and Esme had found some styrofoam heads to model some of the jewelry on. And then also, since I had made a lot of them, stacked more of my baskets on the ground, in front of the tables.

"Might as well sell them as well," Alice had said. They were overflowing in the house, too.

We'd given ourselves plenty of time to set up. Too much in fact, the market didn't officially open for another 46 minutes. The sun was starting to come out so Esme had to disappear. I on the other hand decided to use the time and wandered around to some of the other booths by me.

There was a sausage cart to the left of me that I definitely wanted to try later, but they were just beginning to set up and the two pimple faced teenage boys hadn't started cooking yet.

To the right was a booth similar to my own. The middle aged woman setting up was a hat maker. At least I presumed she was the artisan. She might just be here to sell someone else's products. Her glasses were so think I didn't see how she would be able to see well enough to embroider the delicate detail on the hats. Whoever made them, I was worried that we would be competing for each other's business, but they only seemed to make hats, something I hadn't thought to do.

Further down there was another food stand. This one sold berries of all varieties - blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries. I couldn't see who was working there, they must have stepped out for a minute, but Renesmee would have loved it.

After that there were a few more jewelry stands, but nothing like mine. One seemed to be filled mostly with pearls and another I assumed was some sort of hand blown glass. They were unconventionally pretty, but not my taste.

On the other side was some sort of baked goods booth that carried a variety of loaves of bread, muffins, bagels, and whatnot. It looked like it must have taken a small army to bake all of that, and they were all here to sell it.

Next to them was an older man who fancied himself a photographer. I didn't. His presentation was... well he tried. Some of his pieces were framed, others matted, but they looked like he must have printed them himself and the colors seemed off. Some were out of focus, but it didn't seem intentional. And then the subject matter - who would want to look at puddles of oily water?

Next to him was another food booth. This one was run by a couple, who bought all five of their children with them. Not that they helped sell the baskets and baskets of fruits and vegetables the parents were setting up. The parents seemed like... what was the word? Hippies! They just let their kids run wild and never said a word to stop or control them. Not even when two of them were fighting and knocked over an entire basket of corn.

And then I was back up to me. I'd have to see if I could look around to more booths next time. Right now some annoying little woman with a high screeching voice came yelling down the road that they were opening the Farmers Markets and everybody needed to get ready.

Time to begin.

It was hard letting my creations go, but also fun, and the hours flew by. Esme had set me up with a cash box filled with ones, fives, tens, twenties, and a variety of change, if I needed it. She also offered to install something called a _Square_ on my phone to take credit card sales but I declined that. I hated technology so if someone didn't want to pay cash I didn't want to sell to them. It's not like I needed the money that badly.

After awhile I noticed that my booth started to get emptier and emptier. Judging by my stomach I assumed it was lunch time. Looking over to the now packed Sausage stand I guessed I was right.

"Don't do it!" the goggle eyed woman from the hat tent next to me yelled. Her voice was harsh and raspy.

"What do you mean?"

"I saw you looking over there. First time?" she asked me. First time? "At the Farmers Market?" she clarified.

Oh. "Yes. How did you know?"

"You didn't bring any food with you to eat and now you're hungry. But you're alone. And there's no one to watch your booth. Here," she said while perfectly tossing me what turned out to be an energy bar. I guess she could see.

"Thanks," I replied and then took a bite. Yuck! That's disgusting. Cardboard would taste better.

She started laughing when I spit it out. "I didn't say they were good, but it'll hold you over until you get home and can have a real meal."

"So, you do this a lot, I take it."

"Every other week. And I also do the one down in Manchester, but that one's only once a month. I like your stuff. You make it?"

I nodded.

"The baskets are a nice touch. Where'd you get them?"

"I made them."

"Really?" I couldn't tell if she was impressed or thought I was lying. "Pretty good set up, but you're missing one thing."

"What's that?" Between Alice and Esme I didn't see how those two missed anything… except food for me, but they didn't eat as I did, so that was understandable.

"A model. Someone to bring customers in. To show them what your stuff will look like on them."

"I have mirrors," I told her as I gestured with my arm to the sets on each table. "And you don't have any other women in your booth with you. Or are you your own model?" She was wearing one of her hats, but hadn't changed it all morning.

She picked up one of the frames in her booth that I hadn't noticed before. "Of course I do." Wow! The woman in the photograph was beautiful. Not Vampire beautiful, but for a human she was a knockout. "She's unusually here with me, but had to work at her _real_ job today," she said holding two fingers up on each hand and bent them when she said the word real.

"Friend of yours?"

"Sort of, we work at the same bar. I can um… give you her number if you're interested."

"Oh… I… don't…" Mating was the last thing on my mind right now. I didn't need any more dead humans on my hands.

"Relax. I'm not trying to set you up on a date. I barely know you. This is purely professional." She started writing something down on a piece of paper. "Call her if you'd like her to model for you too. I'm sure she'd do it. She's always up for making a little extra cash. Just don't try booking her on one of my days," she warned. The paper she gave me had what I assumed was the models name and phone number on it.

After the Farmers Market was over, everything was cleaned up, and packed back in the car, Esme and I drove home.

"It looked like you sold a lot of your accessories." Esme said to me as she drove. "Did you enjoy yourself?"

"Yes, I can't wait for the next one. I better get right to work when we get home. I only have a few scarves left. And the belts I made are all gone," though there weren't that many of those to begin with.

"What about the jewelry? Your necklaces and earrings are my favorites."

"I sold about half of them." To be fair I did go with almost two hundred of each. So I did sell a lot… I think. Maybe I should take hat lady's advice and get a model. While asking one of the Cullens to model seemed like the obvious choice, they were more gorgeous than any supermodel, today's weather was a prime example of why that wouldn't work.

I dialed the number hat lady had written down, but it went straight to voicemail.

"Hi… um, you don't know me but I got your number from…" Bosta! I didn't get hat lady's name. "… your friend," I stuttered, "at the Farmers Market today. She said you were open to modeling jobs and was wondering if you were available. I make necklaces, bracelets, ear…"

"BEEP!"

Huh? Oh, I think I got cut off. Was my message too long? Oh well. I think I told her everything I needed to.

She called back after dinner.

"Hi, um is this the guy who called me this afternoon and left a message on my machine about a modeling job?"

"Oh good, you got my message. I was starting to get worried when I didn't hear back from you."

"Yeah your message got cut off," she said then there was a long pause. "So what were you looking for exactly?"

I told her about how I was planning on doing the next Farmers Market but she was already booked, modeling for hat lady, whose real name I learned was Penny. She did agree to the next best thing and promised to model my jewelry in some photographs, just as she had with Penny's hats today. Her schedule at the bar was suppose to be posted in a few days and told me she'd call me then to set up a time for our photo shoot.

Imagine my surprise when she called back the next day. She still didn't have her work schedule but she said that she forgot to ask me about payment.

Oh. I hadn't thought about that and didn't have a clue what would be a fare rate. Thinking it was best to be honest, I admitted it to her, but said I would pay her anything she asked; figuring she'd know what was fair. She laughed, saying I needed to work on my business savvy, that I was leaving myself wide open to being taken advantage of. After that we ended up talking for a few hours, until she told me that she had to go to work.

It was so strange. I'd never even met her, yet we connected so easily. It was like talking to an old friend I had known for decades.

The next day I called her back. We had settled on a price the previous day, but I was thinking we could go over some posses I was considering to highlight my jewelry the best. At least that was what I told her. Really I just wanted to talk to her again.

Four hours later I had to end the call. My phones battery was about to die and I didn't want her thinking I had hung up on her. I found myself wondering where the time had gone. We'd just kept talking and talking to each other. About everything.

She told me how she had recently moved out here with her family, and spent almost all of her time at work but planned on going to college next year. While she enjoyed the lively atmosphere at the bar, she seemed less enthusiastic about starting school. The only reason she was going was because she promised her mother she would.

She liked scary movies, but only to laugh at them, pick-up basketball games, nothing too formal, and county music. I wasn't familiar with it, but after getting off the phone immediately went to find out. Finally, some music that didn't sound like it was trying to bore you to death. Some of it was upbeat, a lot was depressing, but it all had a beat, and you could dance to it. I loved it!

In turn I told her about myself. I told her about my family; how my parents had to split up before I was born and then my mother died in childbirth and my aunt raised me. My father didn't know anything about me until I was almost eight, but by then he had moved on and I had three step sisters. Okay, so it wasn't completely the truth but it was close enough. She found it sad that I never went to live with my father, but I assured her I had a happy childhood with my Aunt, and my father and I never really bonded anyway. I couldn't really get too into it, just alluded that he wasn't the best father figure.

Staying with the almost truth theme I told her how I'd moved up here when my Aunt got married, I didn't want to crowd in on her new life, and I was staying with some old family friends. Again she seemed concerned for me, worried that I was lonely.

It was sweet.

She was sweet.

I think I liked her.

She seemed so nice and we got along so well. We would talk for hours and hours and the time would just fly by.

"You know, I feel a little silly, but we've been talking everyday for the past week, but I don't think you've ever told me your name," she said to me a few days later.

"It's Nahuel." I admitted. She was right. Somehow it hadn't even occurred to me.

…

…

…

"Are you still there?" Did we get disconnected?

"Can you take a selfie and text it to me?" she finally asked. She sounded weird. But I did as she asked. It took me a few minutes and a couple tries but I figured out how to do it with my phone… all on my own. Maybe some technology wasn't so bad. It brought me her. That was good.

A few seconds later my phone beeped letting me know she had texted back. I wonder why. I already knew what she looked like. Why hadn't she just called back?

There was only one way to find out, but her text confused me.

* * *

**July 21**

I dont know what kind of a game youre playing but dont ever call me again

8:11 PM

* * *

She just told me not to, but I tried calling her anyway. It went directly to voicemail.

I called again and again but she wouldn't answer her phone so I eventually left a message. "Leah I don't know what I did wrong, but whatever it is I'm sorry." Did she think I was hideous looking or something?

I was going out of my mind waiting for her to respond, but I didn't get a text back until the next day.

* * *

**July 22**

Try to contact me again and I will KILL you!

10:19 AM

* * *

What had I done? I didn't want to upset her, so I didn't call again.

This is what I got for trying to embrace technology. Distraught, I ended up throwing my phone in my room somewhere. I didn't even want to look at it.

* * *

**A.N. ** So what do you think?

Thanks for reading. Please please please review.


	37. What Texts?

**The Jaguar Versus the Wolf**

**Chapter 37 - What Texts?**

**Orbiting Satellites Book Two, Chapter 37 - Turmoil companion**

* * *

I was out on the back porch, making a few belts. I found I really enjoyed it and it relaxed me. And right now I needed to relax. I was so upset. The last thing I expected had happened.

While I was not going back to farmers market, I was considering possibly… maybe taking Esme up on her previous offer to sell my stuff on that evil computer devise. I figured it couldn't be worse than getting my heart broken.

How could this have happened to me? How could I have fallen in love? And with a human? A weak pathetic little human? One that I had not even met? We'd only talked on the phone. Sure she appeared beautiful in the picture I saw but...

"NAHUEL!" Jennifer's voice screamed at me as she came running out of the forest. "Nahuel, thank goodness. When you didn't respond to my calls and texts I worried Joham had you too," she gasped. She was frantic, yet looked almost relieved as soon as she saw me. What was she doing here?

"Carlisle!" I yelled, knowing he would hear me even if I hadn't, but I was too emotional, too worked up, too overwhelmed. I couldn't think clearly. My sister needed help. Medical help. What had happened to her? She was a hybrid, almost as indestructible as a full Vampire, but was covered in bruises.

"Jennifer, come into the house, let me take a look at those injuries," he said, appearing with Esme, a second later. His voice was calm, but I could tell by his eyes that he was as concerned as me.

"There's no time! He's after her; you need to go, now. It may already be too late," she yelled back, pulling on my arm and refusing to go into the house. Looking down I saw that her injuries were even worse than I first thought.

"Who?" Carlisle and I asked in unison.

"Father, he's after Renesmee. Didn't you get any of my messages?" she asked me.

What was she talking about? I'd have to find out later. It didn't seem like there was time now.

"Where is he?" I asked Jennifer while Esme tried calling Renesmee.

My sister didn't know, but thought it must be somewhere around here. Joham had gone south with Serena to convince her and Maysun to come back with him. He wanted all three of his daughters to help capture Renesmee and the dog. For some reason it was essential to our fathers plan that they both be captured alive. Renesmee I could understand, Jennifer said he was planning to get around the Volturi's rule about not making any new hybrids by mating with Renesmee, but why not kill her guard dog?

As mad as I was about her choosing the dog over me, I did not want my father getting his hands on her.

Oh no! "Carlisle, Jennifer's right, we need to go," I said, halfway to the cars, but he stopped me.

Why? Didn't he want us to go save her?

"We will," he said, "but we need to wait for the others. We don't know where Joham is. Without knowing where to look, going now will be pointless. Hopefully Alice will be able to find him."

I didn't see how. She couldn't see him, when they thought he was after me. Why would she be able to see him now?

Esme called the rest of the family, while Carlisle convinced my sister to come in the house so he could treat her injuries. There were deep gashes in her wrists and hands that were still bleeding, and several of her fingers had been broken and were healing improperly. She was also dehydrated and thirsty, having not fed in some time.

Rosalie and Emmett joined us in a matter of seconds, but Edward, Bella, Alice and Jasper had gone to Canada to hunt.

Luckily when Esme got through to Alice we learned that she had seen them coming back, so while she didn't know what had happened, she had gathered the other three and they were already on the road. They'd be here in less than an hour.

"Neither Renesmee nor Jacob are answering their phones. They left the Amazons, three days ago." I heard Esme tell Carlisle.

"It could be nothing. Maybe they just haven't stopped anywhere where they could charge their phones," Emmett offered.

"They're not Immortal. They'd need to stop to sleep." Rosalie said. She was right. Any hotel they stopped at would have outlets.

Esme wasn't nearly as fast as Jasper, but managed to use the computer to find their recent credit card transactions. "They checked into a hotel in Ramapo, NY this afternoon."

She called the hotel but no one picked up in their room.

Carlisle phone started ringing a short while later, but he was busy re-breaking Jennifer's fingers so he could set them properly. I went to reach for it. I needed something to do even if it was just talk on the phone, but Esme got to it first.

I paced the room while she talked to Edward. I had to strain to hear over my sisters screams, but I managed to make out almost everything they were saying. It helped that Edward was practically screaming.

"What have you learned?" I'd never heard him speak that way to his mother before.

"Not much," Esme replied, before filling him in on the little we did know.

"There's a park near there," he replied when she got to the part about the credit card hotel room charge. "Nessie may have needed to hunt. We'll meet you there."

"But shouldn't…" Esme started to say, but he had already hung up.

"Where going to New York?" I asked.

"Alice must still not have been able to see anything. We need to start somewhere," Carlisle told me. "Rose, Emmett, pull out the cars, I'll join you momentarily," he then told them before turning back to me. "Someone is going to have to stay here with Jennifer. I've tended to her wounds as best as I can for now, but she needs blood and rest. And I don't think she should be left alone."

"No, I'm coming," Jennifer gasped. "This is my fault. If I had escaped sooner, or called instead of…"

"No, it's not. It's Joham's." There was no way she should blame herself for any of this. She didn't look convinced.

"Alright, but drink this on the way," Carlisle said after retrieving one of the many packs of donated blood, he kept in his office, for emergencies.

He'd also grabbed his medical bag; not one of those small black ones, I saw in older medical shows from the 1950's, but a large modern one. It was red and covered in writing and medical symbols. It didn't look like he was expecting to find Renesmee in good shape.

"How's the pain?" he asked my sister, once we got into the car. Esme was driving and Rosalie and Emmett were in the other.

"I'll be fine," she replied.

"I'm sure you will, but this should help," he said, taking out a needle and vial of something, I'm guessing some sort of pain medicine.

Instead of inserting the needle into her arm, he injected it into the blood bag. Once she finished drinking it Jennifer lost consciousness.

"Jennifer?" I shook her, but she didn't wake up. Was something else wrong?

"It's alright Nahuel," Carlisle assured me. "She's just sleeping. I had a feeling that after the trauma she had been through, combined with her lack of sleep as she raced here over the last few days, and the morphine I gave her for the pain, that this was likely to happen."

"When will she wake up?"

"I'm not sure. It partially depends on how fast her body burns the drugs off. Once we get to the State Park it might be best if you take one of the cars and drive her back to New Hampshire."

She's not going to like that.

And neither did Edward. "She could have answers. She may know something," he seethed.

"Jennifer would have told us if she did," I growled back at him.

We'd gotten to the park shortly before him, but had no idea where to start looking. The area was huge. Rosalie, Emmett, Carlisle, and Esme had done a preliminary search of the area while we'd waited for the others but came up with nothing.

"Wake her up," Edward ordered Carlisle. Another first I had never seen or heard from him.

It didn't look like he wanted to but followed his son's instructions.

"This isn't going to hurt her, is it?" I asked when I saw Alice slice a cut into my sister's arm with her nail so Carlisle could insert a needle.

"Its adrenaline," Carlisle informed me, as if that explained anything.

"Adrenaline is naturally occurring in the body. It's a stimulant; it won't harm her," Edward quickly explained. It seemed even though he was snapping at his family, he still hadn't lost all his manners.

But it was all for not. Once she woke, Jennifer didn't have any new information to tell us.

"Anything Alice?" Bella pleaded to her sister.

"It would be easier if they weren't here," she said looking at Jennifer and me, but it looked like after some effort, she was able to see something and we all took off running after her.

What we found wasn't good. The stench was unmistakable. The dog had been shot, his blood was splattered around the forest for hundreds of meters but had pooled in a couple spots, contaminating the ground. It had dried, indicating how late to the scene we were. By one former puddle we also found several darts and smashed bullets.

"Tranquilizers," Carlisle determined, after taking a whiff. "This kind is usually reserved for horses, but with enough, would probably bring down a wolf of Jacob's size as well."

"Oh no!" Bella started panicking and dry heaving, the vampire version of crying.

"Bella sweetheart, there's no body," Edward tried reassuring her. "He could still be alive."

Renesmee's scent was here too, but just that. No blood. She hadn't been injured… at least not here.

There were three other scents that I immediately recognized as belonging to Joham and my sisters, each leading off in a different direction. Following the trails we found numerous bullet casings.

"Found something else," Emmett called from a few hundred meters away. Gathering around, no one knew what the black metal box with lots of wires coming out of it was.

"Do you think it's a bomb?" Esme asked, but didn't look worried.

Bella however did and took a step back. "Could one kill us?"

"You'd probably be fine, but Jennifer and I might not be so lucky. Our father might have left it here if we…"

"Let's just find out," Jasper cut me off, taking out his phone. "Hmmm, I don't seem to be getting a signal."

The rest of the Cullens also took out theirs and none had a signal. "Nahuel, yours is a satellite phone, are you getting anything?" Edward asked me.

"I… um, I didn't bring it." I wasn't even sure where it was in my room.

"I don't think it'll matter," Rosalie told him, before Edward could start screaming at me. "I believe it's a jamming device. That's why we can't get a signal."

"On it," Emmett said as he smashed the device in his hands.

At the same time Edward, Jasper and Rosalie all shouted, "NOOOOO!"

"Emmett, we could have tried to use that to find Joham."

"We don't have time for this," Edward pinched the bridge of his nose and started pacing around in circles.

Bella who had froze, came out of it to speak briefly, "We need to do something. He could be… hurting her already," then returned to a statue. That seemed to do something to Edward and he did the last thing I expected. He calmed down.

"Nahuel, you told the Volturi that Joham seduced your mother. How do you know this?" he asked, but I had a feeling that wasn't really what he wanted to know.

"If you're worried about my father forcing himself onto Renesmee I don't believe he will, at least not right away. If he took the d... Jacob, it probably means he wants her to give herself to him," whether through his own charms or if he has to threaten the dogs life. "But..." I hesitantly added, "he knows of her reproductive timeline, so he won't wait forever."

"I don't think there's anything more to learn here," Jasper said after another search of the area turned up nothing.

We'd already determined which way the five of them had left so we started following the trail, but had to stop again at the edge of the forest when the trail ended. They must have gotten into a car or something.

We were at a dead end.

Now what?

Defeated and with no clues we reluctantly headed back to the house.

All but Edward and Bella. They refused to come saying they would continued to search the area.

No one thought there was anything else to find out here, but they refused to give up.

Not that we were, but like Jasper said, we needed to regroup. Running around in circles without knowing where to look was pointless.

Bella and Edward said they'd call us if they found anything, and we them.

Nobody spoke as we drove back to the house. Jennifer started to doze off to sleep again. The entire ride home was quiet until I heard a growl from Emmett's jeep and he crashed it into a tree. When he got out he grabbed the entire thing by the front grill and started slamming it up and down, into the ground over and over again.

"Feel better?" Rosalie asked him, when he was done.

"No, but there's nothing left to break." His Jeep was nothing more than a pile of rubble.

"Idiot," Jasper screamed. Why'd you do that? The sun's going to be up soon. How are we going to get home now? Can't you ever use your head?"

Tensions were running high and the two of them looked like they were about to attack each other. Alice looked worried for half a second then rolled her eyes; Rosalie on the other hand completely ignored them, instead picking up the crumpled jamming device and started picking through the pieces.

"Jasper, Emmett," Carlisle stepped in between them, "fighting amongst each other won't get Renesmee and Jacob back." It took a while but he eventually got them to calm down.

"I think I can put this back together," Rosalie spoke up. "We might be able to trace it back to Joham. It'll just be a lot harder and take more time, than if you hadn't smashed it," she said to her husband, in a less than loving way. I didn't think they were going to be behaving like a married couple anytime soon, judging by the look she was giving him.

Not wanting to waste any more time Emmett, Rosalie, and Jennifer piled into the front of Rosalie's convertible, Carlisle, Esme, and I, took the backseat and Jasper and Alice squished themselves into the trunk.

Everyone hoped Rosalie was right.

* * *

**A.N.** Thanks for reading. What do you think?

Just one chapter left till the end of _The Jaguar Versus the Wolf _then I'll start posting_ Orbiting Satellites - Book Three._


	38. Family Gone, Family Found

**The Jaguar Versus the Wolf**

**Chapter 38 - Family Gone, Family Found**

**Orbiting Satellites Book Two, Chapter 38 - Darkness companion**

* * *

"How long?" Rosalie asked as Jasper began typing.

She hadn't been able to reassemble the jamming device Joham had used to block Renesmee and her dogs cell phones in New York, but she had managed to reconstruct a serial number on it, after Emmett smashed the thing to pieces.

"It'll be faster if you're not hovering over me." He was hoping Joham had registered the thing when he bought it, or had put it on a credit card that could be tied to an address, or… I wasn't really sure what else. But whatever it was Jasper was looking for it on his computer.

"Fine, I'm going to see if I can pull up any traffic cam footage. Maybe we can find them that way."

"Here," he then said as he handed his phone to Emmett. "Find Jenks in my contacts, DON'T give him any details," he stressed, "just tell him the jammers serial number and that we need a local address. Then tell him– Whitlock Omega Priority. Got it?"

Emmett took the phone and for the first time ever did something without first making a sarcastic comment. Wow!

I didn't know who this Jenks person was, but it seemed we needed all the help we could get.

Everyone was doing something now. Alice was off giving herself a headache trying to force a vision while Carlisle checked on Jennifer. When she'd passed out again on the car ride back here she still hadn't regained consciousness. I heard him ask Esme to help him set up an IV. He assured me she only needed rest and blood. And time to heal.

I still worried though.

While she slept and recovered I decided to see what she had been talking about before, when she asked me about getting her texts. I had nothing else to do.

I'd thrown my phone in my room over a week ago after being rejected and had my heart broken by Leah and hadn't picked it up since. The battery must have died shortly after since I never heard it ring or beep when Jennifer tried to get in touch with me to, I assume, warn me Joham was going after Renesmee.

After giving it twenty minutes to charge a little, I turned it back on and took a peak.

Oh! It looked like I had a lot of text messages from her. I had seen that she'd sent me some a few days before I'd sent Leah the photo of myself. But I hadn't realized what the green bubble picture was for. It looked like she had been sending me messages for awhile. I remember talking to her on the phone on the same dates for some of them, she must have called when I hadn't responded to her texts. I wished now that she had mentioned them at the time.

They went back months. I started at the earliest texts, but as I read they got more and more disturbing.

* * *

**Mar 15 **

how r things with Ren?

still weird with her n dog?

10:11 AM

* * *

r u enjoying nh?

10:14 AM

* * *

miss you :)

10:15 AM

* * *

**Mar 29**

haven't heard from u in awhile

call me

4:19 PM

* * *

**April 8**

amazin news!

father says he found way around V rule

gonna start making us more siblings soon

2:46 PM

* * *

**May 15**

M & S just told me r coming to see u

did ya know they r goin to nh

8:07 AM

* * *

**June 8**

everything ok?

haven't heard back from u in while

5:01 PM

* * *

**June 15**

call or text me sometime

miss ya

7:43 AM

* * *

**July 16**

did u get my texts?

is eveytin ok

hope u r just 2 busy havin fun

hows goin btw?

8:27 PM

* * *

**Aug 23**

I'm scared

fathers up to something

I think M and S are involved

call me!

10:18 AM

* * *

HELP

need help

father told me what plan was

he cant

HE WANTS R!

u have 2 stop him

2:49 PM

* * *

**Aug 25**

911 HELP!

WHERE R U?

12:18 PM

* * *

**Aug 26**

f aftr ne abndond wrehse dint ni whre

hlp

1:18 AM

* * *

That was the last one.

It was so fragmented and jammed together but I think I figured out what she had been trying to tell me. Joham was after her. She'd been either in or by an abandoned warehouse and needed help. But that was sent eleven days ago. She didn't show up here until yesterday. Today was September 8th.

Had she run all the way here from Brazil?

I'd have to ask her when she woke up. But I was so upset with myself now. If I had read all of these messages when she first sent them I might have been able to stop Joham before anything even happened.

My misplaced hatred of technology was hurting people. I hated Joham. Just because he embraced technology shouldn't keep me from doing the same. Or at least not completely repel me from it. I had had some positive experiences with it. I was able to keep in touch with my Aunt, in ways I had never dreamed before, refrigeration kept human food fresh, and cars and planes made travel not only more comfortable but in some cases faster as well.

Jennifer slept for over fourteen hours before she finally woke up. When she did I asked her what happened. I needed to know.

"Father went crazy when I refused to help him," she cried. "I ran, and ran, and ran, trying to get away, but Serena was helping him and they cornered me. They dragged me into this warehouse somewhere, but I managed to escape for a little while, and hide. That was when I sent you the last text. But there was nowhere to go, I couldn't stay there forever, and there was only one door to leave out of. I was trapped. He eventually found me in the crawlspace I'd shoved myself in. I didn't know what to do and stupidly I tried fighting to get away but he attacked back. I was bleeding and I don't know if he did it on purpose but father started feeding from me," she said holding up one of her wrists. "He took so much blood, I got lightheaded and thought he was going to drain me but he didn't. After tearing himself away he grabbed something out of his bag and injected it into me. I must have passed out because the next thing I knew I woke up chained to a wall and they were gone. I didn't think it had been that long but I must have been unconscious for days. I was so weak, it took me almost an entire day just to pull the chains out of the wall, but I couldn't get them off of my wrists.

"I wanted to call you but I found my phone smashed on the floor and father must have taken my wallet and ID's. But I knew I needed to get to you so I ran. I ran for as long as I could and then eventually found a car to steal. I drove it until it ran out of gas. And then I stole another, and another. But as I got closer to you I didn't want the police involved, looking for stolen cars, so I ran again. On this second half of my run up here I finally managed to break some of my fingers to get the shackles off of my wrists, and kept running and running until I found you." She looked embarrassed.

"I don't know why I'm not healing as fast as I normally would," she said while rubbing the bandages on her wrists.

"I believe it's a combination of the muscle relaxants and sedatives Joham injected into you, combined with the blood loss," Carlisle told her, coming into the room to check on her again as he'd been doing every few hours. He handed her another bag of donated blood, "The more you drink the faster you should heal."

She drank it, and then another. She looked better with each bag, but was still healing slower than normal. I didn't know what to do to help her, but she was so upset I mostly just held her as she cried. The more she cried the better her mood seemed to improve. I didn't understand it, but if it was working I didn't want to stop her.

Two days later Bella finally called. They had a lead.

"I'm putting you on speaker," Carlisle told her, as we all gathered around.

"We don't know for sure, they're too far away for Edward to hear, but we heard a wolf howl."

"You heard Jacob?" Esme gasped.

"No, I know what he sounds like as a wolf, as well as I do when he's human. But I think it was Seth."

"Who's Seth?" I whispered to Jasper, but only because he was standing next to me.

Edward's voice was the one to answer me through the phone though, "He's one of the wolves from Jacob's pack that live in the area."

The dog had a pack? I guess that would make sense, I'd just never seen any of them, or heard him, or Renesmee talk about them.

"Where are you?" Jasper asked them. When Bella gave us their location we all dashed into the cars. Once again Jennifer came, even though Carlisle thought it would be best if she stayed home to rest. She insisted and there was no stopping her once she'd made up her mind.

It didn't take long; driving over 120 mph they were less than an hour away. But when we got there Bella and Edward were not. We didn't expect them to be. We assumed they'd keep running and we'd follow theire trail, but smelled nothing.

"Did we go to the wrong spot?" Emmett asked looking around.

"No, this is where Edward said to go," Carlisle answered, but looked as confused as the rest of us.

Esme was about to call Bella, when Alice yelled, "They're this way," and took off running a few miles south, into some nearby woods. When we got there Edward was destroying anything he could lay his hands on.

"We lost them," Bella sadly filled us in when she saw us come into view.

We searched throughout the night and well into the next day, coming up empty.

"How do we even know the wolves know where they are?" Rosalie asked, echoing my own thoughts.

"I heard Seth," Edward replied. After he'd gotten out some of his anger and frustration he rejoined the search for his daughter a few hours ago. "The wolves are faster than us, so he was out of my hearing range before I could find anything pertinent out, but Jacob was in his wolf form when they were taken. His pack is looking for him too, and I can't be certain, but I think they picked up a scent we haven't and are following it."

So that was why we were trying to find them? That wasn't too optimistic in my opinion, but it was the only lead we had.

A few hours later Jennifer came across a strange scent. It almost smelled like the dog, but not. It had to be from one of his pack. Carlisle confirmed it.

After that it was a simple task of following their scent.

As we ran Edward must have heard something that upset him, and almost fell over. We must have been close so it wasn't hard to guess what he heard. I couldn't understand why he was so surprised though. He knew Joham's plan; why he had taken Renesmee in the first place.

A few minutes later we burst through the front doors. It seemed like my father liked warehouses, he'd kept Jennifer in one, and this was another, but larger and more fortified then the one she was kept in, or so she said. The wolves had already broken down the front door and there wasn't a lot left for us to do.

There was a room on the right I heard growls coming from, but Edward ignored it and headed toward the back. That must have been where Joham and Renesmee were. Bella, I, and half our group followed him, while the others went to the room on the right.

Edward could read minds so he knew what was happening in there before the rest of us, still it seemed strange when he paused at the door. He took a deep, unnecessary breath, and then slowly opened the door.

Just like I expected the room wasn't barren concrete like the rest of the building, but had sheer curtains framing the barred windows, a fluffy rug over the industrial tiled floor, and a large pillow covered luxurious bed in the middle of the room. Scented candles lined the walls and were adding a soft glow to the romantic atmosphere.

His daughter didn't seem to be doing too badly. She was slightly bruised, but Edward seemed more surprised, than angry that my father had succeeded in seducing her. While I despised the fact that that he had gotten to have her, when I had failed, it hadn't shocked me. He'd become an expert at the art of seduction over the centuries; so of course he'd succeeded, he was a pro at it. Renesmee never stood a chance.

As soon as we came in, she saw her father, said a single, exhilarated word, "Daddy!" and passed out. He was across the room in an instant, to catch her before she hit the floor, but lying there was already the headless body of my father.

"Carlisle," Edward called, who came in an instant.

While Edward was relieved to find his daughter he still seemed more upset than I expected, but wasn't this better than if Joham had forced himself on her? She might have gotten badly injured if she fought back. After a quick examination Carlisle said that she had merely passed out due to exhaustion.

Joham's body was quickly burned, but as we all exited the bed chamber and found the others I learned that my sisters were also both dead, killed by the wolves, yet I wasn't as upset as I thought I'd be.

The dog was alive, barely. Carlisle wasn't sure he'd make it; also not that upsetting.

A discussion was going on to determine what to do with my sisters bodies – burn or bury them. No hybrid had ever died before and no one was sure what to do.

Out of respect Carlisle asked Jennifer and I what we wanted, but it was hard to think. The wolves didn't seem to realize we weren't with Joham, Serena and Maysun. Emmett and Esme were having a hard time holding them back, so they didn't attack us too.

Jennifer was heartbroken, she loved her sisters, but there was nothing to do for them now. There would be time to mourn later. We quickly talked it over and decided that their bodies should be cremated as well. Jennifer wanted to gather the ashes to take with us as a remembrance.

As we did this Esme was still trying to calm down the wolves. The sandy colored one backed down, but the small grey one wouldn't stop growling at me. What was his problem?

"Nahuel, we'll need to transport Jacob back home in a car," Edward said tossing me two sets of keys. "Why don't you and Jennifer go get them."

Gladly. Anything to get away from the dogs.

Knowing where we were going it didn't take long but when we got back to the warehouse half our party was gone.

"We found Joham's van," Alice explained, "so Carlisle took Nessie, Jake and his pack home. They all needed medical intervention, some more than others. And Edward and Bella went with them. Come on we'll drive you back," she said as we piled in one car, and Emmett and Rosalie drove home alone in hers.

The nightmare seemed over.

But was it?

Joham was gone. My sisters were dead. Jacob might still die. Jennifer was severely traumatized and who knew about Renesmee. What would be the lasting repercussions from the events of the last few days?

Only time would tell.

* * *

**A.N.** That's it for the **The Jaguar Versus the Wolf. **Sorry to leave you on a sort of cliff hanger.

To read this story in Nessie and Jakes POV read_ Orbiting Satellites Book 2._

And to find out what happens next continue reading the story in _ Orbiting Satellites Book 3. _I hope to start uploading it next week.

Please review.

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed my story.


	39. Authors Note

Authors Note:

Chapter One of Orbiting Satellites – Book Three has just been posted. You can find it here –

s/13464478/1/Orbiting-Satellites-Book-Three

Also The Jaguar Versus the Wolf has now been marked complete. It tells the story of Nahuel and Renesmee in Book Two through Nahuel's point of view –

s/13432489/1/The-Jaguar-Versus-the-Wolf


	40. AN Prologue

**Authors Note**

* * *

Okay, so I think being stuck indoors all the time during this quarantine is… I'm not sure, but I got an idea for a new, better Prologue to this already too long story.

So I wrote it up and added it to the front of Chapter One of **Sunrise** and **Orbiting Satellites – Book 1** if you are interested in reading it. There's also a few added paragraphs in there, 'cause I couldn't help myself.

Sunrise - s/12326592/1/Sunrise

Orbiting Satellites – Book 1 - s/13204890/1/Orbiting-Satellites-Bk-1-Sunrise-revised


	41. Rating Change

If you've previously read this story you might notice that the rating changed. I have not edited it but it was pointed out to me that while the language was not full of swears (in English) and the content wasn't exactly graphic the content might be better with a M rating.

Does anyone else feel like this? Or was this person just overreacting? If they weren't it makes me wonder if i should change the ratings of my other stories. Please let me know. I don't want to upset anyone.


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